Watching River
by IcedTeaInTheEvening
Summary: When River agreed to testify against one of the most illusive criminals out there, the one thing she didn't agree to was having Victor Benedict assigned to protect her.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I know I should be finishing my other FF but I needed a story break. So... heres Victor's story. Enjoy.**

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I sat back in the steel chair and stared back at myself through the reflection of the two-way mirror in front of me. Nobody had come to speak to me since I had arrived and I had lost track of how long I had sat here. If it wasnt for the fact that I was positive somebody was staring back at me from the observation room, I would have been up examining the room. I had always been interested in forensics and crime scene investigating so the thought of this morning had a smile playing across my lips. I had been woken up at an ungodly hour by two guys who were channeling the "Men In Black" vibe and escorted me to the FBI offices in my pjs. My super quick tour of the FBI had ended with me being shut in this room with a bottle of water that sat in front of me unopened.

I was running through all the potential crimes I could have committed to land me in here when the door opened. The seat opposite me was pulled back and filled by a man. Even though he wasnt standing, I could tell he was extremely tall; his face was still and expressionless as he stared back at me and I couldnt help but feel as though his presence somehow... filled the room.

"I'm Special Agent Victor Benedict." He opened the folder in front of him and shuffled through the papers until he found the one he was looking for. He produced a photograph and slid it across the table; as soon as I saw who the photograph pictured, my eyes snapped back to his.

"Do you know who this is?" his voice was coaxing but I didn't reply - I wouldnt reply until I found out what this was about. He waited a few more seconds before he realised I wasnt going to answer.

"That's James Anderson. The James Anderson that's going on trial in a couple of months. The James Anderson that will be walking away without a punishment if we don't get witness to testify against him." So they had finally caught him and he was going to walk away like countless times before. Same old, same old.

"Anderson was very organised, he didn't leave any witnesses." _Alive. He didn't leave any witnesses alive._ "You however are an exception, Miss Heartly. I understand that a few years ago you were going to testify against him but he was never taken to court. We bought you here today to ask you to testify against him now. He will be in court in two months and we need you on the witness stand if we are going to have any chance of putting him away for a very long time." I broke my vow of silence to ask the one question that was eating away at me.

"What is he being tried for?" Agent Benedict seemed surprised at my sudden question but answered it anyway.

"He killed a fellow agent and injured others. We are also looking into older cases that he was thought to be involved in. Thats why you're here. When you were interviewed by the police in 2008 you said you saw him murder someone. How sure are you it was James Anderson?"

How sure was I? He murdered someone in front of me and then he put a bullet in my chest for good measure. I was pretty damn sure. But why now? Why speak to me now? That had happened years before and when it had nobody seemed particularly interested by it. Then it dawned on me. They were doing this because an agent had been killed. They were working this hard to convict Anderson because he had killed one of their own. This wasnt about the other people, this was about _their_ people.

I didn't want to be here anymore. I wanted to go home, go to bed and forget i'd ever been dragged here but that wasnt an option. As much as I hated the fact that this case was only going to court because the FBI had to save face, I couldnt refuse to testify. I had to be a witness because that S.O.B had to suffer. When I looked up, I realised that Agent Benedict was waiting for me to answer.

"I'll do it. I'll be a witness." He gave me a small smile before grabbing the file and leaving the room. Only once he left did I realise that the photo of James Anderson was still on the table.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Next chapter guys, don't forget to Review!**

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Things moved quickly after that; person after person came into the room and I was swamped with paperwork and policy rules. By the end of it, my body ached and I wanted nothing more than to sleep - this was not an option however as I had recently found out that a cold steel table was not exactly the best pillow in the world. The look of exhaustion on my face must have given someone the correct impression that I wanted to leave because Agent Benedict entered the room, coat in hand.

"Ready to go?" It was a question that I could tell he already knew the answer to. I nodded anyway and got to my feet, swaying slightly due to my lack of physical activity; Agent Benedict took in my clothing and handed me the coat with a small smile. Apparently he'd never seen anyone wearing pjs in a FBI interrogation room.

It was cold outside and I was thankful when we got into the car and he turned on the heat.

"Where do you live?" He asked as he pulled out of his parking space. I wanted to joke about how he should know, being a fed and all, but I lacked the social skills needed to have that kind of conversation with a stranger so I reeled of my address instead.

"You live at a hotel?" He turned to me, his voice alarmed but my only response was a shrug. I liked hotels and plus it wasn't like I had a house or any family around here and I defiantly didn't have any friends i could stay with. Heck, I didn't even have any friends. He seemed to think this over but before he could come up with an answer, we had reached our destination.

The hotel wasn't the poshest but I had chosen it because the building itself looked like it had come straight out of a Jane Austen book. The walls were a faded white and the balcony above the entrance was held up by moss-covered pillars. It had looked perfectly out of place in the heart of Denver and I had booked a room as soon as I could. Agent Benedict didn't look impressed which didn't surprise me - he didn't seem like the Lizzy-Darcy kind of guy. He seemed like the Mr Bennet type - strong, authoritative, sick of everyone's crap... I wonder if I could get away with calling him Agent Bennet-dict? I was so caught up in my thoughts that I had failed to realise he had already entered the hotel which meant I had to run to catch up to him. He stood in the lobby holding my room key in his hand.

"Lead the way." I was surprised that he was walking me up to my room. Maybe the FBI had started a personal escort program and I was the first person to try it out on. When we got there, I expected him to leave but as soon as my door was unlocked, he walked straight in.

"Do you need any help packing your things?" His question caught me off guard and it took me a moment to figure out what he was talking about.

"Packing my things for what?" He looked at me like I was an idiot.

"Witness protection, remember? You signed the paper earlier." Damn. I knew I should have read the papers before actually signing them. I don't want I be 'protected', especially if it involved talking to other people.

"Yeah, I don't think I need that. Can't I just stay here?" He shot me a look that told me if that was a possibility, he wouldn't be here.

"Your are most important witness right now. We can't have anything happening to you so were moving you to a safe house. It was all in the paperwork." The paperwork that I didn't read.

"Where is the safe house?"

"Wrickenwridge. About an hours drive from here." He paused to look at his watch. "We better get going." I had never heard of the place and I certainly didn't want to 'get going' but the way he stood there with his arms crossed gave me the feeling that if I didn't go willingly, I would be carried out to the car.

Ten minutes later, I was in the passenger seat. I had gotten changed into jeans and a shirt and Agent Benedict had carried my two bags out to the car. We were now headed towards Wrickenwridge or as I liked to call it, 'Hell on Earth'. There were hundreds of questions I wanted to ask but knew I wouldn't. Will there be other people there? Can I still go outside? Will I have to be followed everywhere? God, I hope there wasn't other people there. I don't deal well with large groups of unknown people. Or small groups of unknown people. Or people.

More questions arrived when we pulled up to a house that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. The downstairs windows were alight and I could just make out the silhouettes of people moving around inside. So there were others here. Yay. I got out of the car and grabbed my bags from the back seat refusing the hand that Benedict held out for them. I was perfectly capable of holding my own bags and perfectly capable of making a run for it. Though one look at the dark trees had me putting of escape till it was lighter and there was less chance of being mauled by a werewolf or other mythical creature.

Benedict lead the way to the door and we stepped inside, dropping our bags, coats and shoes in the hallway. The house was warm and I could hear the sound of voices and laughter drifting out of the living room. Mentally preparing myself, I followed Benedict into the room and got my first look at its occupants.

There were two older people sitting on the couch along with two younger men with their respective girlfriends? I was no expert on safe houses but I was pretty sure this wasn't one. The picture frames that hung on the walls quickly told me that the people in the room were very close an judging by the two boys, related. The girls didn't feature in many pictures but the ones they did turn up in showed that my guess on them being the girlfriends was true. This wasn't a safe house, it was a family house. But who's family? I turned to Benedict for answers but he was looking to the older woman.

"Hey mom."

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**So, I was wondering if I should put some chapters in from Victor's POV. What do y'all think?**

**Also, thanks for the reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

**How are y'all today? Good? Good.**

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Holy crap. No way was I going to be staying with Benedict's family. As if it wasn't bad enough having to be followed around, but now he expected me to live in a house full of his relatives. Not happening. I tried to inch closer to the door even thought I was positive that the majority of people in this room would easily catch me within seconds and the thought of running anywhere at this time of night really didn't appeal to me. Benedict's mother seemed to notice what I had in mind.

"It's okay, dear. No need to be afraid." She gave me a small smile before turning to Benedict. "Well, Victor, introduce us!" Victor cleared his throat and gently pushed me into the centre of the room; I had been perfectly happy standing behind him where nobody could see me.

"This is River Heartly. River these are my parents, Saul and Karla, my brothers Yves and Zed and their Soul- uh girlfriend and wife, Sky and Phoenix." I got a small wave from everyone in the room apart from Karla who practically jumped the space between us to embrace me in a bone crushing hug.

"Poor, poor, dear. I dread to think what you've been through but don't you worry, were going to take good care of you and keep you safe." She was certainly...happy...at my arrival. "Victor take her things up to Xav's room. She'll be sleeping there and you're going to stay in Zed's room. Now how about something to eat, dear?"

"Actually, I'm not really that..." before I could finish my sentence she was gone "hungry." Benedict had gone too leaving me alone with the others; I tried to look busy but the polite conversations started anyway.

"So," the small blond girl walked up to me, her boyfriend in tow "how are you?" The question seemed like more of a formality than her actually wanting to know the answer but I replied anyway.

"I'm good." There was an awkward pause before I realised that it was my turn to ask. "How are you?"

"I'm good too. Phoenix and I are glad you're here. It will be nice to have some more girls in the house." She gave me a smile and I felt myself returning it.

"You live here?"

"No, but I spend lots of time here so you'll see me around often." She laughed at something her boyfriend had whispered to her and playfully punched him in the stomach. He responded by picking her up and dumping her on the sofa narrowly avoiding hitting me in the process. I decided to take my leave and made my way to the kitchen. Karla smiled at my arrival and placed a sandwich down in front of me.

"I hope that's okay. I can make you something else if you'd rather?"

"No this is fine, thank you." She pulled one of my hands across the table and wrapped it in her own.

"So polite, and pretty too. I'll have to tell our Victor to-"

"Have to tell Victor what?" We both turned to see him standing in the doorway, quizzical expression on his face.

"To take good care of you." Karla finished but I got the feeling that had not been what she was going to say. Benedict took a seat next to me and pulled out a piece of paper; I took a small bite out of my sandwich and saw him look at my plate then to his mother.

"No, if you want a sandwich, you make your own. I'm going to bed." She gave us a smile and said good night, leaving us alone in the kitchen. I pushed the plate aside and motioned to the other half of my sandwich. Benedict raised an eyebrow but picked it up anyhow.

"Thanks. Now we have some rules to run through and while your here, you will need to stick to them. Understood?" I nodded. "First, don't leave the house alone. Second don't leave the house without telling me, even if you are with someone else. And third, don't speak about the case to anyone other than me or other FBI agents." He finished writing them down and slid the paper over to me. I folded it and shoved it in my pocket; so I was going to be on a leash for the next 2 months. Great. I slid of the chair and finished off the rest of my sandwich.

"Come on. I'll show you to your room."

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**The next chapter will be in Vic's POV but it will only be short so don't hate me. :D**

**R&amp;R!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the late update :) Here's a chapter in Victor's POV. I don't know how often I'll write one in his POV but they will be popping up now and again. Enjoy.**

**P.S - All of this belongs to Joss Stirling which is, unfortunately, not me.**

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Victor's POV

I gave her a quick tour of the upstairs and left her outside Xav's room. She seemed awfully quiet but that was probably because she just found out she would be living with a bunch of strangers for the foreseeable future. I made my way back to the living room and dropped down onto the sofa that wasn't occupied.

"Nice one, bro," Zed threw a cushion at me from across the room "I didn't think you had it in you to pick up chicks but here we are. I'll have to ask her what charms you used to win her over."

"Shut up, Zed. She doesn't need to deal with any crap from you." I growled from across the room.

"Take it easy. It was a joke. We'll be nothing but polite to her, right Yves?"

"I will," Yves replied sarcastically "but you on the other hand..." Yves dodged the cushion that flew towards him and Phoenix just managed to do the same. This of course lead to a fight in the middle of the floor while Sky and Phoenix placed imaginary bets on who was going to win. The fight was over as soon as it had started and we settled into discussing the new sleeping arrangements.

"I can't believe Xav gave up his room so easily." Phoenix said and we all nodded. It was hard enough to get Xav to leave his room to eat let alone leave for two months so we could accommodate a stranger.

"I can." Zed replied, a smirk on his face. "He was just dying to get away from mom's watchfully eye and spend some alone time with his soulfinder, if you know what I mean." A chorus of groans met his statement.

"Don't say that, he's staying in my room!" My brothers laughed at my remark and I couldn't help but smile too; it had been so long since I'd been able to just sit and talk to them and I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it.

"Ok, change of subject!" Sky shouted over the laughter. "Phee, you want to go into Denver soon? I really need to go clothes shopping."

"Sure, you think we should ask River if she would like to come along?" She directed this question at me but I was unsure how to answer. If River wanted to go, I couldn't stop her but she didn't really seem like the type of person who enjoyed those kind of things and she certainly didn't seem to like being around strangers.

"You could ask but I don't know what she'll say." It was true. I knew nothing about her. As I made my way to bed later that night, I tried not to think about the fact that a few doors down, there was a girl whos protection depended on me.

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	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter is a bit longer because I dont know how soon im going to be able to update again due to mock exams. My spell check isnt working properly at the moment so I apologise in advance for bad spelling and grammar. Sorry :). Enjoy.**

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I woke early the next morning and decided to unpack the small amount of things I had. The room was big enough to have a small en suite and I sent out a silent thank you to the universe for it. There was a wardrobe, a double bed, some draws and a desk in the corner; the walls were painted a pale blue, the same colour as the sky in summer and the black carpet was thick and soft under my bare feet.

I piled my clothes into an empty draw and set about reorganising the rest of my stuff. When I had finished unpacking, I could hardly see a difference in the room. I travelled light so all of my worldly possession fit in the middle of the desk; a few books, my iPod and my small bag of toiletries pretty much summed up my life.

Instead of just standing around, I decided to do something productive and take a shower. By the time I had finished and dresses in some jeans and an old t-shirt it was still only 7.25. I left my room and made my way downstairs only to find that the bottom floor was empty; I guess I was the only early riser in the house.

I decided to snoop round the house before anyone else woke. I was always inquisitive and the chance at playing spy in a strange house was just two good to give up. I looked at all the picture frames, looked through all the cupboards, checked every closet - no skeletons, just piles of ski equipment that were no doubt used by him and his six brothers. It had come as a bit of a shock when I came across a picture of seven guys smiling at the camera; being an only child, it was strange to see a family with not only seven sons, but seven extremely good looking sons. I tried to think of a word that best described the handsomness of them all but my brain would only allow for 'damn' which was not an uncorrect statement because those boys...

Deciding it was probably best to stop creeping around the house, I waled over to the bookcase that was resting against one wall. My eyes scanned the shelves until they landed on an old hardback copy of one of my favourites - Jane Eyre. Although I carried a copy with me, I prided myself on reading every copy I came across. Pulling the book out of it's space, I set about finding a comfortable place for reading. In the end I settled for the window seat and pulled the curtains closed to shut me off from the outside world. As I read through the chapters, I could slowly feel myself drifting into sleep.

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I woke to the sound of shouting and it took me a second to realise where I was; I had fallen asleep behind the curtains with the copy of Jane Eyre clutched tightly to my chest. The voices rose a notch and I listened to what they were saying.

"She won't have gone far, she didn't even put her shoes on! She'll be back, she just needs some space."

"Space?" I recognised Benedict's voice straight away "I can't afford to give her space! There are plenty of people out there who will take the first opportunity they get to make sure she isn't a witness for Anderson's trial!"

It dawned on me then that they were talking about me. Jeez, try to read a book once in a while and people think you've gone off to get yourself in trouble. I rolled my eyes at Benedict's over exaggeration and hopped down from behind the curtain. He stood with his back to me and blocked me off from seeing anyone else in the room. This guy really was tall but then again, so were the majority of people in this house.

I reached out to tap him on the arm causing him to swing round and me to have to duck to avoid being hit in the face. Once he registered it was me, a look of relief flashed across his face before it changed back into one of anger.

"Where the hell have you been?" His voice was sharp and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes at him; his current hands-on-hips-narrow-eyes stance made him look awfully similar to my 3rd grade teacher when I accidentally threw up on him during the Christmas show.

"I was reading," I lifted the book up for his inspection "on the window seat. I fell asleep." He gave me a look over and when he realised that a book and a nap were not going to put me in any immediate danger, he dropped the tough guy look and let out a sigh.

"The next time you feel like reading, please let someone know that's what your doing so I don't have to worry about where the hell you are. Deal?"

"Deal." He nodded at my answer and made his way to the kitchen, talking back at me from over his shoulder.

"You should get something to eat, Jane Eyre can wait." I wanted to argue the many reasons for which Jane Eyre could not wait but he had already dissapeared into the kitchen. I could now see that Karla and Saul were in the room with me and were giving me what I assumed were appologetic looks.

"Don't mind him," Karla spoke in a soft voice "he means well." I could see from the look on her face that something was troubling her; I had tried my hardest to avoid eye contact the previous night but I still saw the way she looked at Benedict, like she was waiting for him to breakdown. I nodded at her statement and quickly looked away; I wanted to be apart of their family problems about as much as i wanted to bathe in a tub on poisonous snakes.

"I thought I said Jane Eyre could wait!" Benedict called from the kitchen. This guy clearly had no respect for litrature or free will and if it wasnt for the fact that I was kind of living with him, I would have given him a peice of my mind. Instead, I bit my tounge and walked into the kitchen, not bothering to meet his eyes as I grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl. I started to regret my choice of fruit moments later after multipul failed attemps of peeling the skin off.

"Having trouble?" I didn't have to look up to know that the jerk was smiling and I had to stop myself from throwing the fruit at his head. _Manners, River. Remember he knows how to use a gun. _Good point.

"No, I'm fine." It was quiet for a few seconds as I continued to struggle and I thought he had dropped the matter until a hand reached across the table and took the orange from me. I was about to protest but he had already began peeling the fruit and handed it back to me a few seconds later.

"Thanks." I mumbled as I stuffed some peices into my mouth before I had a chance to remember I was not alone_. Oh well, he already knows you can't peel an orange, he might as well know your a slob too._

"No problem." he replied as he absentmindedly reached across the table and took a peice of orange. I rolled my eyes and threw him a couple more peices which he caught on reflex before picking up the rest of them and shoving them into my mouth. He gave me a smile which had me nearly chocking on my food. Damn. Note to self: making Benedict smile was worth it. REALLY REALLY worth it.

Once i had composed myself, I realised that Benedict was flicking through a manilla folder. AWESOME. I'd have to remember to "borrow" it for a while so I could go around pretending I was working a case like Horatio or Mac Taylor. If I could get hold of some police tape, I could easily turn my new room into a mini crime scene in a couple of hours.

For now, I decide to question Benedict on the folders contense; I got the feeling it was probably something related to Anderson.

"Agent Benedict?" He looked up "Whats in the folder?" He looked at me for a while as if deciding if he could trust me. My question, however, was purely polite; if he said no, I would simply read it when he wasnt around.

"Cold cases." He sighed and closed the folder. "Thats what we call cases that havent been sol-"

"I know what a cold case is." He raised an eyebrow in question. I debated wether I should tell the truth or spin a story about how my father had worked for the CIA and my mother was an assassin. I decided on the truth seeing how he probably already knew everything about me that the national database would allow. I did however, decide on leaving out the parts about how much of my childhood was taken up by using telekenisis to reenact and recreat past episodes of CSI to see if the cases were solved in a logical and scientifically correct one good thing about being a savant. That and being able to awesomely cosplay X-Men Characters.

"I like CSI. A lot." I shrug as if I have memerised nearly every episode.

"Yeah?" He sounds surprised. _What did he expect me to do in my free time? Drink skinny lattes and gossip with my girlfriends? _"All crime dramas of just CSI?" Finally! Something I could actually have a conversation about.

"Oh, I like most of them. CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: New York, The Mentalist, Castle. There all awesome and they all have really good plots, you know? Plus the casts are amazing and their outfits are super cool! I actually have a t-shirt that says CSI on it and I -" I stopped mid sentence and mentally slapped myself. Repeatedly. Wow, I thought I had my fangirling under control but here I was gushing my heart and soul out to an amused looking FBI agent.

"Sorry." I could feel my cheeks begin to heat; any minute now I would turn into a perculiar shade of beetroot.

"Don't worry about it. I look forward to hearing more about this CSI t-shirt." He smirked as he said this and leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms in fornt of him. "It sounds very interesting." Douche! You can mock me, but you don't mock CSI. Before I could give it a second thought, I flicked my wrist towards the two of his chair legs that were still on the floor and he began to wobble before falling to the ground. I bit back a smile as I rushed over to him.

"Are you okay Agent Benedict?" He looked puzzled but nodded and pulled himself of the ground. It was his turn to go red.

"Im fine." He coughed and I gave a small nod before turning to leave the room with a smile on my face.

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**R&amp;R! I hope y'all had a good holiday!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I really do need to study now! Thank you to all of those who reviewed and i'll try to update this as soon as I can.**

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I was allowed outside after breakfast and although I welcomed the small amount of freedom, I would have preferred to have gone alone; instead I was accompanied by everyone but Benedict's parents. Once we were outside however, we all split up which meant that I was left mostly to myself with Benedict trailing behind me. I pulled my IPod out of my borrowed coat and put in my earphones; I put the playlist on shuffle and took in my surroundings.

It was beautiful here in the daytime. It was the kind of place I would want to live; the frost on the ground cracking underfoot, the mountains looming over the trees, the sun bathing everything in a yellow light. I could just imagine it being filled with fairytale creatures like the books I had read as a kid.

The scenery allowed me to forget the reason for why I was here and I wondered through the trees, lost in thought. I hummed along to my music and hopped from stone to stone like I used to when I was little and would pretend that the ground was shark invested waters. I stopped at different trees to see if I could wrap my arms around them fully. I tried, unsuccessfully, to catch any birds that landed close enough to me. I forgot about everything.

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Vic POV

I trailed behind River as she explored the woods and I found myself smiling at her actions - especially when she was running around after birds. She seemed happier outside of the house and I wondered wether I had made the right decision in bringing her here. At the time, I had been thinking about what would be the easiest option for me but I didn't account for how she would feel about the arrangements. She was different to any witnesses I had dealt with before; she was withdrawn but I got the feeling that it was nothing to do with Anderson or the trial.

I thought back to earlier. When I had fallen off my chair, I had just brushed it off as me being clumsy but the more I thought about it, the more I started to think otherwise. The chair was perfectly stable one second and then the next I was on the floor. It was almost like someone had pushed me but nobody was around apart from River and she wasn't anywhere near me.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and looked up just in time to see River balancing on the back of a bench, arms outstretched. That really wasn't safe.

"River!" I called out to her but she didn't seem to hear. _She's listening to music._ I rolled my eyes at my stupidness and made my way over to her. I reached out a hand and tapped her on the arm to gain her attention.

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River

I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I failed to realise that Benedict was behind me. When he tapped me on the arm, I had a mini heart attack and spun around in surprise. This of course made me loose my balance and I managed to let out a small squeak before I was falling backwards.

Desperate to save myself from the impact of the cold ground, I used telekinesis to try and cushion my fall. The result of this was me curled up in a fetal position hovering a few inches over the ground before I let go and dropped to the floor. I let out a noise that I imagined was very similar to the noise a dying seal would make and brushed a stray leaf off my face. Graceful.

I rolled onto my back and rolled my eyes to the sky before sitting up which was about the time when my jaw hit the ground. Standing a few steps away from me was a shocked looking FBI agent. In my hurry to save my ass, I had forgotten that I had company. I could feel myself going red; not only had Benedict just witness me fall on my face, he had also witnessed me floating in the God damn air.

OMG! How the hell was I going to get myself out of this one? I had just broken the first rule of savant club - Don't let anyone find out about savant club. _Maybe he didn't notice._ Who am I kidding, he clearly noticed or he wouldn't be looking at me like I was a slide under a microscope. A very suspicious, possibly escaped mental patient slide.

I stood up and brushed the dirt from my clothes while simultaneously hopping he wasn't about to call the nearest psycho ward.

_Say something. Say something. Say something._

"Uh, you surprised me." Way to go, River.

"I can see that. At you ok?" He narrowed his eyes at me and tilted his head to the side, as if a sideways view of my face would answer some of his questions.

"I'm good." So was the tree behind him which I was staring at intently in order to avoid eye contact.

"You're also a savant." My eyes snapped to his. He knew about savants? He knew about savants! Wait, was this the "Yay, savants are awesome!" knowing or the "You should all be tested on for science." knowing?

"What do you know about savants?"

"I know that your one and..." He paused as if he was debating how he should phrase the next part of the sentence "And I'm one."

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**DUN, DUN, DUN...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Back to school on monday so I dont know when i'll next be able to update but i'll try not to keep you waiting to long...**

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River

What?! Benedict was a savant? I was not expecting that. I walked backwards until I bumped into the bench and leaned back against it.

"Damn." He let out a laugh and moved so he was leaning on the bench next to me.

"Are your family savants too?" He nodded. I had been surrounded by savants and hadn't even noticed. Something dawned on me then.

"Sky and Phoenix? Are they?"

"Yeah. Their my brothers soulfinders." That explained a lot. They seemed to be attached at the hip whenever I saw any of them together and I had wondered about Phoenix and Yves being married so young.

"Wow, I don't even realise."

"You're not the only one." He sighed and turned to me. "The FBI really should have known you were a savant. It would have made things easier if we had as we knew that Anderson was targeting savants but we couldn't prove it."

"He... The man that Anderson killed was a savant." I remembered him clearly but I never knew his name. Never knew who he was. "But why? Why is he targeting savants?"

"The bigger question is how does he even know about us?" My head jerked up and I looked at Benedict. He didn't know. How could he not know? The FBI was starting to disappoint me with their inability to do accurate research.

"I think you should replace whoever was in charge of profiling Anderson." He looked at me in question. "Agent Benedict, Anderson is a savant too."

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After I told him that, Benedict went into full FBI mode which, I must admit, was a little scary. He was very serious and I could just imagine him interrogating criminals much like Gibbs would.

It appeared that the case against Anderson had more then a few holes in it and I began to wonder if once again he would be walking away without punishment. Someone was going to have to take drastic measures in order to insure Anderson spent the rest of his life rotting in prison.

After I had promised to tell Benedict immediately if I remembered anything else of importance, we headed back inside. The rest of his family were in the living room having what looked to be a heated game of Monopoly.

"Finally," Zed called out as we entered the room "we desperately need more players who aren't freaking geniuses like Einstein over there." He gestured to Yves who was looking very smug as he looked through a very large pile of colourful paper money.

"Why does that feel like an insult?" I directed my question at Benedict who looked like he was thinking the same thing. He laughed and rolled his eyes at Zed and I found myself smiling back at him.

"So are you game?" Yves looked like he would very much enjoy beating us in the game and I would have excepted the challenge but there was one small problem.

"Uh, I don't know how to play Monopoly." Everybody turned to look at me in shock and I mentally added 'cannot play Monopoly' to my list of things that were socially unacceptable.

"What did you do all your childhood?"

"Generally avoided the other children." They all laughed at this but I could tell that they couldn't really tell if I was being serious. I was.

"Well," Phoenix was looking at me strangely, like she knew something the others didn't "we can teach you. Victor is very good at this game, maybe he'll give you a few pointers."

So I joined the others and tried my hardest to understand the game that apparently was "Great for ages 8+". I was clearly only 7.

* * *

I sat upright in bed and kicked the covers off me as I reached for my iPod - 3:37. Great. There was no chance of me getting back to sleep anytime soon but I didn't want to sit in this room for hours either. Rolling over, I fell out of bed and onto the floor were I stayed for a few moments while I thought about possible things to do.

When I had made up my mind, I jumped to my feet and made my way out of the door. The house was pitch black but I didn't want to wake anyone by turning on the light; instead I made my way blindly downstairs and into the kitchen managing to only walk into three walls and a door.

Flicking on the kitchen light I began to look for Benedict's case file and soon found it on the side next to a closed laptop. I sat down at the table and opened the folder. As I expected it was about Anderson. It contained a pile of paperwork and seven pictures; it took me a while to realise that they were his victims. Five men, two women. Add on the man he killed in front of me and that was 8 people he had killed. 8 known people. Who knows how many more there are.

I stared at their faces until i started to feel sick and shoved them back where they came from. Those people had families and because of one man, they would never see them again, never see anything again. I smashed my hand against the file which was an action I immediately regretted when i remembered that there was a marble worktop underneath it.

Clutching my throbbing hand to my chest, I began scrambling around the kitchen in search of a first aid kit. I have to get to the bathroom, it will probably be in there.

When I got back upstairs however, I realised I was going to have a problem finding the bathroom let alone anything in it. The doors were all the same and coupled with the darkness of the landing, I could hardly make out which door was my own.

I headed for the door closest to me and listened for any noise coming from behind it. Nothing. Gripping the handle with my good hand, I opened the door only to shut it again after I saw people sleeping in a bed. I moved to the next door and tried to control my breathing. I couldn't believe I was doing this. It's one thing to sneak about at night reading confidential files, it's another to go creeping around in people's room while their sleeping. I was about to give up and just return to my room when I remembered my hand; I could just make out that it was starting to swell. Just wonderfull.

I pushed open the door and looked in. This room was even darker but I couldn't see any sign of a bed. I took another step forward and reached out for something to give me a clue of the contents of the room. Nothing. Making my way further into the room, I began to have doubts. There was no way the bathroom could be this big so I clearly wasn't in it which meant I was in someone else's room.

I turned to leave but ended up treading on something and nearly falling over. Something moved next to me and I heard a groan. I was so busted! Hoping to make a run for the door, I started to move but a firm hand grabbed my leg and stopped me from going anywhere. Seconds later a light was being shined in my face and I had to shield my eyes from the glow.

"River? What the hell?" The light moved from me to the floor and I could just make out Benedict's face.

"Sorry! I was looking for the bathroom but all of the doors look the same in the dark and I didn't want to turn on a light incase I woke anyone but I guess I did that anyway and I'm really sorry!" I ended my speech by turning bright red and for the first time tonight I was glad that the lights were off so I couldn't be seen.

"You have a bathroom in your room." His tone was sceptical. Oh God, he probably thought I was some kind of weirdo that snuck into people's rooms at night. Well...

"Not one with a first aid kit." As soon as I had said this he was on his feet torch in hand.

"Are you hurt?"

"Kind of." He turned off the light and reached out for my wrist, guiding me out of the room and down the landing to another door. When we were inside, he closed the door and clicked on the light.

So this was the bathroom. Second door on the left. Benedict opened a cupboard and pulled out a white box.

"Where are you hurt?" I held up my hand in front of him. In the light I could see that two of my knuckles were swollen and bruised. Benedict noticed this too and let out a low whistle.

"How did you manage this?" He pulled my hand towards him and turned it in different directions, observing the damage. His fingers were warm as they brushed over my hand and I suddenly became very conscious that I was in an inclosed space with a guy I hardly knew in only a t-shirt and shorts.

"I recently joined an illegal fighting ring. We meet every Wednesday." He laughed at this and pulled an ice pack out of the box, crushing it in his hand to activate it. I winced as he placed it against my hand but the coldness soon became comforting.

"I don't think anything is broken but you should get it checked out. My brother Xav is a healer, I'll give him a call in the morning."

"Xav? I'm staying in his room right?" He nodded an I let out a laugh. "He has more hair products then I do!" Benedict smiled at me and began packing the first aid kit away.

"Really? He took most of them with him." I shook my head at this but I secretly wanted to meet him. After I had looked at the pictures of Benedict's family I wanted to be able to put names to faces. I wondered which one Xax would be. Benedict opened the door and we stepped back into the dark hallway.

"Thank you, agent Benedict and, uh, sorry for waking you up."

"No problem, I'm glad I can help those who were injured while participating in illegal activities." He had no idea. I smiled and turned toward the door I was 99% sure lead to my room.

"And River," I turned back to look at him "you can call me Victor."

* * *

Victor

You can call me Victor? What the hell was I thinking! I closed the door behind me and dropped onto the floor, pulling the duvet over my head. I was such an idiot. Way to make things weird, Vic. God, what was up with me. I was meant to be looking after her but all I seemed to be doing was embarrassing myself.

Ugh, it wasn't my fault. I couldn't seem to think straight around her. I thought back to how a few minutes ago she had been standing here in her pjs looking more beautiful then someone should be allowed to at four in the morning.

She always looked beautiful with her big brown eyes and wavy hair. I'd noticed when I had first met her but I hadn't allowed myself to think about it but know she was here, it was like... No. Im doing my job. Shes here for a reason and so am I.

I turned over, buried my face in my pillow and waited for sleep.

* * *

**THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEW, FOLLOWS AND FAVOURITES!**


	8. Chapter 8

**I just want to thank you all so much. I have been really busy these past weeks with mock exams and you guys have all been really patient with me. Y'all are really great! Exams are over for now so I will be back to updating more often. Thank you!**

* * *

The next time I woke, sunlight was streaming through my window and I could hear people talking downstairs. Pulling myself out of bed, I stumbled into the shower and was out again a few minutes later. The hot water did a good job at waking me up and by the time I had gotten dressed and dried my hair, I only felt slightly out of it.

I had slept with the ice pack all night but it hadn't done much to reduce the swelling and the bruises were much darker now. That's when I remembered that Benedic- uh, Victor, had said he would call his doctor brother. That was probably why there was so much noise coming from downstairs.

When I got downstairs, the living room was empty so I moved towards the kitchen. From outside, I had the advantage of listening to their conversation without being seen.

"How did she do it? People don't just wake up with busted hands, you know." A voice that I didn't recognise. Xax?

"No! Don't they?" Another voice I didn't know but this one was female and very sarcastic. My curiosity got the better of me and I poked my head around the door. A quick head count told me that there were six new people here. The size of this family was starting to get ridiculous.

I waited for what seemed like forever until one of them looked up and met my eyes. It was Karla.

"Sweetheart! Come in, don't be scared. These are my other sons and their" she paused to look at Victor who nodded at her "soulfinders. Don't worry, Victor told us that you're a savant. That's just wonderful isn't it, Victor."

"I guess." I doubted that he knew why it was 'wonderful' anymore then I did. I stepped further into the kitchen and smiled. I wasn't small on any account but I felt like at any minute, these giants would forget I was here and accidentally squish me.

"What's funny, cupcake?" I looked around for the source of the voice and my eyes landed on a tall, willowy guy who had way better fashion sense then me - that wasn't really hard to achieve though. He could have worn a black bag and still looked more together then I did right know.

"Cupcake?" My question received a few smirks but no answers. "I, uh, it's just your all so tall. Kind of scary." He laughed at this but before he could reply a tall girl with curly hair stepped I front of him.

"Don't mind that idiot. I'm crystal and that is my sister Diamond, Trace, that one over there is Will and... Uriel." She pointed out three men and an average sized - finally- woman which meant that beauty queen in the corner was Xav. I gave a small wave as I was guided over to a chair in front of the doctor.

"How may I be of assistance, my lady?" I smirked at his behaviour and raised my hand for his inspection.

"And how does one get an injury like this, may I ask?" I thought for a moment before replying. I desperately wanted to say something sassy and Jane Austen-y but I decided not to seeing as this guy was going to be in charge of fixing my hand. I looked over to Victor who was staring back, waiting for my answer as well. Time to confess, well at least to some things.

"Well, last night I couldn't sleep, you see, so I came down here to get a drink. Then I ended up punching the table which was a bad idea because its marble and marble is, like, really hard and my hand is..." Get to the point, River "not. Oh and I walked into a wall." I pushed my hair back to show him the bruise that had formed next to my hairline.

"Okay then..." He cast an amused look at someone behind me before continuing. "Lets get you fixed up." I nodded and watched as he closed his eyes and wrapped my hand in his. There was no pain at first but after a few seconds my hand felt like it was on fire and I couldn't help but wince. Victor saw this and tried to distract me.

"Uri's taking forensic science in collage." This got my attention and I turned to look at the guy in question. He was as tall as Victor but he had lighter colouring then the others -hazel eyes and gold shot hair. "Maybe he would like to hear about your CSI t-shirt." He smirked and I shot him a glare. He should be thankful his chair was properly on the ground or I would have sent him flying again. I decided to ignore him and turned to Uriel.

"Is it a good course?" He smiled at me and moved closer, taking a seat next to Victor.

"What do you want to know?"

* * *

Victor

When Xav had finished healing River and she had run out of questions for Uri, we all went our separate ways. I was about to follow Will into the living room when I was cornered by Crystal.

"Can I speak to you for a minute, Vic?"

"Sure." She lead the way to the front of the house so we were near the front door and away from everyone else.

"What's up?" Crystal looked nervous as she began to speak.

"When I met River this morning, I got this feeling that I had met her before. How do I put this... Her presence felt familiar. So I did a bit of telepathic digging and I think I know why I felt that way." What is she talking about? River presence was familiar?

"Have you met her before?" That was the only logical reason I could think of as for why we were having this conversation.

"No." She took a deep breath and looked me in the eyes, words coming out in arush. "Victor, I'm 99% sure that she is your soulfinder. I mean, I would be 100% sure but this is my first time doing this and im not really sure on how acurate I am with it yet. But I would bet my life on River being your soulfinder." I stared at Crystal for a good minute before I could speak again and when I could, I only managed one word.

"What?" She rolled her eyes at me and started jumping on the spot.

"Are you happy? I didn't know when to tell you but I figured you would want me to tell you first before everyone else found out. This is awesome. I have to tell Xav!" She was about to turn around when I stopped her.

"Don't. Not yet. I should tell River first." Crystal sighed but shrugged and nodded before bouncing back to the living room.

Once she was out of sight, I let the news hit me. I had my soulfinder. She was in this house with me right now and had been for a few days! River was my soulfinder. Now I had to tell her. What if she didn't want to be with me? What if she did? I managed to stop myself from jumping on the spot out of happiness by reminding myself that I was a 23 year old FBI agent in a house full of people that would forever use it against me.

I tried to look calm as i made my way to the kitchen, ignoring the little happy dance Crystal was currently doing in the corner of the room. I stopped at the door and looked in; River and Xav seemed to be having some sort of competition to see who could fit the most marshmallows in their mouth and I guessed that the strange, mumbling noises they were making were supposed to be words.

I waited for them to finish the game and took the time to look at my soulfinder. Just look at her. The way her hair was thrown up in a loose ponytail. The way her eyes crinkled at the corners when she laughed. She was wearing a too big t-shirt and she had marshmallow on her face but she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. And she was mine.

She chose this moment to look up and meet my eyes. She smiled when she saw me and waved me over.

"She," Xav leaned over and took the last marshmallow out of her hand "is a cheater! You think I didn't see you! Cheater!" River laughed and took the marshmallow back from him and shoved it in her mouth.

"Just because you lost to a girl." I laughed at how angry she sounded and decided to give her some dirt on Xav.

"That's not the first time he's lost to a girl. A couple of years ago, he was bragging about how good he was at skiing and he challenged this girl to a-" An orange flew from the fruit bowl and I ducked just in time to avoid being hit in the face.

"Crystal!" Xav shouted "Vic's being mean, come save me!"

"Save yourself you idiot! And get out of the kitchen, Victor has work to do!" Xav raised an eyebrow but I shook my head.

_You'll find out later._

_I don't doubt it._ He left us alone in the kitchen and shut the door.

* * *

**Drop a review if you want!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here it is, the chapter you've all been waiting for!**

* * *

I looked up at Victor and tried to decipher his expression; he normally looked so cool and calm so the fact that he could bareley look me in the eyes was strange and somewhat alarming. Paired with the fact that he had "work to do", I was starting to get a little nervous.

"What's up?" I gave myself brownie points for managing to keep my voice calm and casual. Something my mind was currently failing at. Strange behaviour from Victor could not be a good thing.

"We need to talk." He sounded calmer then he looked but I could still sense something different in his tone of voice. It sounded close to nervousness but I quickly dismissed this thought, we were talking about Victor Benedict after all.

"About the case?" Oh God, what was he going to tell me? Had Anderson hurt someone else while I was sitting here stuffing my face with marshmallows? I'm such an idiot. I should have never thought that things would change.

"No," Oh, thank God "about us." Wait, what? As far as I was concerned, there was no us. I mean sure he was attractive and smart and funny and charming and did I mention attractive, but me thinking that did not mean there was an us. Sure, he helped with my hand and smiled at me occasionally but that was all part of the job description. His job description. The only 'us' I could think of was the protector - protected one.

"I'm not sure I follow." He smiled and took the seat next to me, leaving very little space between the two of us.

"I'll try to explain. You see a few minutes ago, I was told something that would have either a positive or a negative effect on the rest of my life. You are the only person who can decide which." He paused and looked at me to make sure I understood. I didn't really. His method of explanation only had me more confused. I was in charge of making the decision?

"Whatever you chose is completely up to you. I want you to know that I won't be mad at you and that I'll respect your decision, ok?"

"What's the choice?" I really wanted to know what the hell was going on and why the hell my choice would impact the rest of his life. Maybe he was going to make me choose which football team to bet his life savings on. If he was, he better be prepared to spend the rest of his life without money.

"I was getting to that." He let out a breath and met my eyes. "What would you say if I told you we were soulfinders?"

**Victor**

Silence. Oh crap, she was probably thinking of the nicest way to reject me right now. I tried not to look destroyed as I stood up but I knew I was probably failing. It felt like my life was slowly caving in on me and i couldn't escape. _Remember what you told her._

"Really, it's fine if you don't wan-"

"Are you sure?"

"What?"

"About us being soulfinders?" I tried to remember what Crystal had said. There was a 99% chance. That was pretty likely, right?

"Crystal seems to think so and she is a soulfinder." Trust me to be the one to get rejected. What did I expect though? I hadn't exactly been the best towards her.

"Maybe we should talk. Telepathically, I mean." Why hadn't I thought of that? If I spoke to her, she would know it was true and then maybe, just maybe, she would want to stick with me. I tried to control my excitement as I agreed to it and instead focused on reaching out to her mind instead.

She had dropped her shields and I tried not to look too closely at the things going around in her thoughts. I couldn't stop myself from smiling, however, when I saw I was in a few of her recent memories.

I refocused and thought of something to say to her. I decided to go for the easiest option.

_Hello?_ I waited for her reply.

_Hi._

I had listened to my brothers describe the feeling a hundred times but it was nothing to actually experiencing it. As soon as she replied, it was like my brain recognised her straight away. Like she was the name of a song that I loved but couldn't remember until I heard it. My mind just seemed to open up and my body coursed with energy like I had been living my life only half charged.

I opened my eyes to find her staring back at me, a small smile on her face. God, she looked beautiful and I was halfway through reaching out to her when I remembered something.

"It's still your decision wether you want this." I waited for her reply and prepared myself for the disappointment that I was sure was coming. River rolled her eyes and let out a sigh.

"Victor, you idiot. Get over here!" I wasted no more time and quickly crossed the distance between us. Leaning over her, I placed one arm on the back of her chair and placed a hand under her chin, bringing her lips to mine.

As soon as they met, my body was set alight and I couldn't stop myself from moving an arm to her waist and pulling her closer. She didn't seem to mind and instead responded by wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling herself upwards until we were both standing, no space between us.

When we finally broke apart, I buried my head in her shoulder and let out a breath. This is what I had been waiting for all my life and I would have happily waited another 23 years if I knew this would be waiting for me. I moved my lips across her neck and felt her shiver. I would never get tired of this. Never.

"Finally." She huffed "Where have you been the past 23 years?" I laughed at this. I was feeling the exact same way.

"I was waiting for this." I ran a hand over her hair and took out the band securing it together, letting the waves spill over my hands and sighing in ecstasy. She leaned into me, head resting on my shoulder.

"You know what this means, don't you?" I shook my head.

"It means no more making fun of my CSI t-shirt."

"I'm not sure I can promise that..." I leaned back and raised her chin for another kiss.

* * *

**SOULFINDERS! Did you enjoy? I think I kept you waiting long enough. :D Don't forget to leave a review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**River**

I don't know how long we just stood there but I would have stayed there forever if we hadn't been interrupted by a knock at the kitchen door.

"It's Crystal, is everything okay?" Victor smiled at me before dropping a hand from my waist and turning to open the door. I used this time to walk back over to my chair and flop down. Finding your soulfinder was exhausting but at the same time it felt as though I was finally awake after spending my life sleepwalking.

Crystal entered and took in the distance between me and Victor, her happy expression turning to worry.

"Oh no, did I get it wrong? I'm so sorry, I was so sure she was your soulfinder, Vic. I'll try again! Really, for both of you! I'm so sorry." Victor moved to stand behind me and ruffled my hair. I tried to bat his hand away but he entwined his fingers with mine and pulled me to my feet. I rolled my eyes but could stop myself from smiling.

"I don't think that's necessary, Crystal." Victor smiled at her "I'd say you did a good job the first time." She looked from me to Victor then back to me again.

"You mean it worked? It actually worked! Haha, Victor this is awesome! I'm so happy for you both!" She jumped forward and grabbed us both in a massive hug. When we were released she was off again, pacing around the kitchen.

"It worked. I have to tell Xav. Can I tell Xav?" We nodded in unison and she bounced from the room.

"Xav! Xav! You'll never guess what happened!" There was a silence in the kitchen as Crystal explained to the people in the other room. A few seconds later, high pitched squeals of excitement sounded through the house and the Benedict's piled in through the door.

I think I was hugged by everyone at least four times and by the time the excitement had died down a little, I was pretty worn out.

Victor came up behind me and handed me an orange - already peeled. I laughed and turned to him to find his expression mirrored mine.

"I finally have my very own fruit peeler." Victor shook his head but I could see the smile on his face and I couldn't help but reach for his hand.

This whole soulfinder thing was very strange. I had never been social and the thought of being close to someone I had met only days before would have normally displeased me immensely. Yet here I was, hand in hand with the FBI Agent that was assigned to protect me.

It was like a bad chick-flick had collided with an even worse romance novel and I had been cast as the main lead; I stood there looking at his face in awe for longer then I care to admit. If I wasn't careful, I'd soon find myself planning our wedding and future kids.

I shook my head and tried to gain some control of myself. Soulfinders were great but I really had only just met him plus I couldn't forget my reason for being here in the first place. Finding Victor was amazing but we both needed to focus if we were going to put Anderson behind bars. I would have to talk to him about this later.

* * *

Later on, I found myself siting in the Benedict's living room reading a book. Victor was sitting at one end of the couch while I was at the other end; the only sound coming from the tap of his fingers against the keyboard as he typed away. The silence was comforting and I was glad Victor seemed to be like me when it came to small talk - not an expert in the field.

Zed chose my moment of contemplation to walk into the room. He looked between the two of us with a worried expression.

"Everything ok?" The question hung in the air until Victor looked up from his screen to answer.

"Why wouldn't it be?" There was a moment of silence before Victor broke into a laugh. I looked at him in silent question.

"Zed thinks that we fell out due to the fact that we aren't constantly all over each other like the rest of the soulfinders in this house." My eyes moved to Zed and I gave him a smile.

"No, we're all good." He gave me a sceptical look and Victor laughed again. I couldn't help but join in.

"If it makes you feel any better, we'll sit closer." Victor motioned for me to move closer and I shuffled a few inches to the side. Victor smiled at me and then we both continued with our previous tasks. I heard Zed mutter something about us being weird under his breath before leaving the room.

Seeing as we were alone, I decided know was a good time to talk to Victor about my plans. I had had a lot of time over dinner to think about what I was going to say so that I had my thoughts in order when I turned to Victor and asked if we could talk.

"Sure, what's up?" He closed his laptop and placed it on the table, taking my hand in his. I smiled at the touch and almost forgot what I was going to say. Almost.

"So I was thinking," he raised an eyebrow but didn't interrupt "we have a lot to worry about. Anderson will be going on trial soon and I want to make sure we do everything possible to ensure he gets what he deserves."

"We'll do everything we can." He replied with a determined look and I didn't doubt him for a second.

"I know, but to do that, we both need to be focused and I don't think to much of this will help." I gestured between the two of us and waited for his reaction. It took a second for him to grasp what I was trying to say.

"You mean we should forget about being soulfinders?" I could see the pain on his face but I could help rolling my eyes.

"No, I mean that what happened in the kitchen earlier can't be happening 24/7 because even though nothing would please me more, if that happens I will end up forgetting all about the case."

He looked at me for a while as he contemplated what I was saying before he came up with an answer.

"Okay, I see where you're coming from. Kissing will be kept to a minimum for now but under no circumstances will it be stopped altogether. Agreed?" He smirked at his proposal and waited for my reply.

"Agreed." There was no way I would refuse that offer. His smirk turned into a smile and he pulled me closer so I was practical sitting on him.

"There is one thing though. If this is going to happen, I think I deserve a kiss now to keep me motivated."

"You're such a nerd." He let out a laugh before pulling me closer and bringing his lips to mine.

I had originally planned for the kiss to be short and sweet but along the way I got sidetracked and Victor wasn't about to say anything to stop me. Minutes later, we pulled apart; foreheads together, out of breath and I dropped my hands to his chest.

"I take it back." His voice was low and husky. "I don't agree. I want to change the rules." I smiled and gently patted his cheek.

"I'm afraid that's not an option, sir." I got up from the sofa and made my way to the door, turning to give him a smile before I made my way to bed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Victor**

I spent most of the night tossing and turning, unable to get to sleep. I had found my soulfinder then almost instantly agreed to pretty much stay away from her until the trial was over. Great thinking, Vic.

When I finally woke in the morning, I had a plan. The sooner we got everything sorted with the trial, the sooner we could end the deal. I planned on getting things started right away so I rushed to get ready and headed for the bathroom.

"Wow Vic, I don't know what to think!" I ran in to Xav outside the bathroom and he staggered backwards in mock surprise. "You meet your soulfinder and you end up sleeping in late for, like, the first time ever. I'm proud brother!"

He patted me on the back mockingly and I rolled my eyes at his actions before I finally realised what he was suggesting. I felt my face heat up.

"We didn't sleep together if that's what you're thinking." He laughed as he wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner and I looked around for the nearest thing to throw at him.

"Don't worry bro, I won't judge. Mom might though." With that he turned and sprinted down the stairs. I wasn't worried about him telling mom; even if what he said was true, he knew I had way to much dirt on him and I would be more then happy to talk if I had the right encouragement.

I remembered what I was meant to be doing and walked into the bathroom, locking the door and turning on the shower.

* * *

When I got to the kitchen, everyone was already eating; River was engaged in a conversation with Xav and I quietly took a seat next to her. She gave me a smile before turning back to her conversation.

"So, River, did you sleep well last night?" I knew where this was going and I tried to stop him.

_Don't even think about it Xav._ He ignored me and waited for Rivers reply.

"I guess. Why?" She looked at him suspiciously and I gave him a threatening glance from across the table. It didn't phase him. He carried on, a smirk spreading across his face.

"It must have been nice. Spending a night in the arms of your soulfinder." All of the other conversations stopped at the same time River started choking on her pancake. As soon as she had recovered, mom burst into questions.

"Is that true Victor Benedict? If it is, I sure hope you were smart about it!" River and I shared a horrified look and it was only made worse by the fact that all my brothers and their soulfinders found the situation amusing.

"Mom, nothing happened, Xav is lying. We slept in our own beds!" River nodded in agreement, going red in embarrassment. I swear to god, Xav was dead when I got my hands on him.

"Is that true Xavier Benedict?" Xav gulped at the sound of his full name and his laughter stopped. He looked at me for help but I was to busy smiling at his soon to be punishment.

"I'll take that as a yes." Mom closed in on him and hit him on the arm as everyone else tried to hold in their laughter. "Then I guess you just volunteered to clean up after meals for the rest of the week, didn't you?" Xav tried to protest but mom was having none of it.

"As soon as everyone's finished eating, leave it to Xav. He's being so helpful today, aren't you sweetie?" Everyone quickly got up from the table and left, thanking Xav on the way out. Only River and I remained and Xav glared at us.

"Your such a traitor, Vic! You should have told her it was a joke !" I was about to reply but River beat me to it. She was quite scary when she was angry.

"What the hell, Xav. Are you trying to kill me? You can't just say things like that. How would you like it if I told everyone you and Crystal slept together?" Xav looked down and scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Well we kinda-"

"Oh my god! I don't want to hear it. Nope, not listening!" She clamped her hands over her ears and shook her head, no doubt trying to get rid of the disturbing images that were flashing through her mind curtesy of Xav.

I smirked at him before standing up and grabbing River's hand. She didn't refuse and quickly followed me out of the kitchen and into the main room. We sat on one of the sofas and let out a simultaneous sigh.

"Remind me never to speak to Xav again." She shuddered at the events of the morning and leaned back, resting her head against the back of the seat.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Xav's an idiot and mom can be a bit..." I waved my hands around and she smiled in understanding before thankfully changing the subject. I didn't want to admit how much I wanted to know what it felt like to hold River as she fell asleep.

"So what are we doing today?" Her question caught me off guard but I quickly remembered my plan to get this agreement over with as quickly as possible.

"I figured we should start going through your witness testimony and making sure we have everything sorted for the trial. What do you think?"

"Sure, sounds like a plan." She had no idea.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:**

**Bold** text = Flashback

_**Bold italics**_ = Thoughts

Warning = Contains swearing and some violence

* * *

**River**

Two hours later we were still camped out in the living room. The coffee table had been taken over by piles of paper and folders and I was becoming more agitated by the second. I had managed to get the big events down pretty much straight away, much to the horror of Victor, but I was struggling to recall the small details. To make it worse, my love for all things CSI meant that I knew just how much the small details meant when it came to a case. They could make it or break it.

"This is no use, I can't remember anything!" I dropped my head onto the table with a thud and let out a sigh. Victor had been trying to find ways to help me remember but so far they had all failed.

"Just forget about it for now. We should take a break anyway, we've been doing this for hours."

"If I can't remember now, how am I going to remember later on? It would be so much easier if I could just see it instead of trying to remember." Victor stopped and looked at me before putting his head in his hands.

"We just completely over looked our best asset."

"And that is..." I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Uri!" He seemed to remember I couldn't read his mind and decided to let me in on the loop. "Uriel can see the past. He would be able to help you remember but we'll only do it if you want to."

I thought about that for a moment; Uriel could help me remember by showing me the past. Although I wasn't ecstatic about the thought of seeing it all again, I knew it was my best shot at finding all the information that would be useful to the trial.

"How soon can he get here?"

* * *

If Uriel wasn't happy about having to come back here after just going home, he didn't show it. He arrived at the door and hour after Victor called him, ready to get down to business.

The whole affair was different to how I imagined. Everyone in the house crowded in the living room and set about getting everything ready. When they had finished the lights were turned off, candles were lighted and everyone sat on the floor in a circle. It was very atmospheric.

"Normally we would have everyone here, but I don't think we need them just yet." Karla addressed me and I looked at the people around the room, all we were missing was Will, Trace and Diamond. Victor then took over the speaking, telling me how the whole thing worked.

"So just relax and let Uri in. Zed, mom and I will be able to see what you see so don't worry about missing anything, okay?" I nodded and took a deep breath. It was now or never.

* * *

**I forced my eyes open and looked around the room ignoring the pain that blossomed across my face and ribs. _Warehouse. Empty. Smells weird. How did I get here?_**

**I remember. The guys from earlier brought me here... My eyes wanted to close but I couldn't let them. _Get a grip of yourself, River. You need to get out of here._**

**I shook my head to clear my thoughts and winced at the sharp pain that shot through my head. That son of a bitch hit me. Yet another reason to escape.**

**The chair I was on was sturdy and the ropes that tried my hands and feet were knotted in an expert fashion. This wasn't going to be easy. I was trying to come up with an escape plan when a small door to my right slammed open.**

**"Ah, the princess is awake." His voice was ruff and loud as he let out of laugh. He looked about thirty and judging by the tacky suit and slicked back hair, clearly thought he was better then everyone else.**

**"Who are you?" I spat the words at him with as much force as I could.**

**"Now, now princess. That's no way to start a conversation is it? Didn't your mother teach you any manners?"**

**"Not when it comes to dirt bags like you." His smile dropped and he moved closer, face inches away from mine. Grabbing my face with a meaty hand, he made me look him in the eye.**

**"You want to be careful what you say. Words like that could get you in trouble." He growled and I got a lungful of his rancid breath.**

**"Yeah, well your poor hygiene is punishment enough." He let go of my face and I gasped for clean air only to have it knocked out of me again when his hand connected with my cheek, leaving sharp pain and no doubt a red mark.**

**"We'll carry on with this conversation later. Right now we have business to do." As if on que, a man entered the room, dragging another man with him. The look on his face told me he wanted to be here about as much as me.**

**"You see Mr Jones, when we say we have ways of making you talk, we mean it." Bad breath addressed the man but didn't take his eyes of me as a malicious grin crept across his face.**

**"Now do you want to tell us what you know about the Net or not?" So this was about the Net? Trust me to get caught up in something that I wasn't even part of. The only thing I worried about was the fact that this meant bad breath was a savant. I wasn't sure if I was strong enough right now to fight off mental attacks or whatever else his gift had to offer.**

**"You don't need her. She's nothing to do with this so just let her go."**

**"You didn't answer my question, Mr Jones. I really wish you had." As soon as he finished his sentence, he swung round, his fist making contact with my jaw with a sickening crack. I cried out in pain as fire burnt trough my face and I coughed up blood. I had to stop my eyes from rolling back in my head. _Stay conscious, you need to be awake to get out of here._**

**"Don't hurt her anymore! I tell you want you want just don't touch her!" Jones cried out and dropped to the floor. I wanted to go home. Wanted to get away from this but I wouldn't let him tell his secrets. If these people knew about the Net, only bad could come of it.**

**"Don't tell him..." My voice was weak and it hurt to talk but I couldn't give up. "Don't tell him anything." Bad breath spun round and met my glare, wrapping his hand in my hair, he pulled tightly.**

**"You should know your place, princess. If you value your life, you'll let the grown ups get down to business." I smirked at him, ignoring the pain from my scalp and face, and spat my blood over his pristine white shirt.**

**"Bad decision." With that I was awkwardly pulled out of my chair and thrown onto the floor. With my hands tied behind my back, I had no way of stopping the kicks that he delivered to my abdomen.**

**When he was finished I could barely breath and was only just holding on to consciousness but he wasn't done yet. Pulling out a gun, he aimed it at my head. At least death will be easy.**

**"This will be your last chance, Jones. Tell us what we want to know or she dies!"**

**"Fine! Fine." Jones was crying at this point, slumped on the ground like a lost child. "I only know about Valerie Hurts. She works on security for the Net. I don't know where she is but I have her phone number and last know address. The information is in the desk at my house, second draw from the bottom." Bad breath looked to the man stood next to him and nodded.**

**"Cut her loose." He ordered and I was cut free of my binds and pushed over to Jones who smiled down at me.**

**"We're going to get out of here." He whispered through his tears and I couldn't bring myself to tell him we wouldn't. We were both going to die.**

**"Well, this was nice but I'm afraid we will have to cut this short. Shoot them."**

**"No!" Jones shouted jumping up off the floor and stepping in front of me "You don't have to, you can let her go! She doesn't know any-" the sound of gunshots echoed around the room but the loudest sound was the thud his body made when he hit the floor.**

**I couldn't take it anymore. I pulled myself of the ground, adrenaline overcoming pain, and shouted bloody murder.**

**"You bastard! I swear to god, i'll make you pay for this! You think you can just get away with it?" I made to run at him but was pulled back by the other man. Bad breath pulled out a gun and aimed it at me.**

**"I don't think I can get away with it, I know I can. Now hold still, I'm going to get a lot of joy out of this, princess." I closed my eyes ready for death but I could give up just yet, not without knowing who had done this to me.**

**"Who are you?" My voice was ruff but loud and it echoed around the room eerily.**

**"I'm James Anderson, but you won't live long enough to remember." The gun was fired and I fell into blackness.**

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I wasn't in a warehouse but was in the Benedict's living room, hand grasping Victor's, heart beating fast. The room was quiet, all eyes on me, and I couldn't help the awkward chuckle that escaped my lips.

"That was worse then I thought it would be." My mouth was dry and I sounded like I was about to cry. I just might have but i still had some sense of self preservation.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie." Karla was close to tears as she stood up and Saul quickly followed, wrapping his wife in his arms. "We'll leave you two alone for a while." She left the room and the others followed one by one.

As soon as the door shut, he pulled me into his lap. I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest, his heartbeat calming. It was a few minutes before he spoke and when he did, I could hear the anger in his voice.

"I want you to know that I'm not going to stop until I find him. No matter how long it takes, I will keep on looking and I'll make him pay. I should do worse. I should hurt him like he hurt you." His grip tightened as he said those words.

"I think death is too easy." My voice was quiet but I knew he could hear me "He deserves to rot for what he did to all of those people." It was quiet again after that until he asked the question I knew was coming.

"How? How did you survive?" He spoke as if the words were painful for him to say.

"I woke up in hospital. They said a warehouse caught on fire and the firefighters found me just in time to stop me from dying of blood loss. I tried to tell the police what had really happened but despite the bullet wound in my chest, they said they had no real evidence." I let out a sigh but even that sounded weird and forced. Victor pulled me impossibly closer.

"I won't let you get hurt again. Ever. But I will have to break the rules for a minute..."

"What rul-" I was cut off as his lips met mine in a forceful kiss full of anger and hate and pain. I let myself get lost in it, get lost in Victor. He kissed away the memories until all that was left was us and the sound of our breathing. When we pulled away, I curled up in his arms and let my eyes close.

* * *

**Is anybody reading this anymore? I don't know...**


	13. Chapter 13

**Victor**

After I had put River in her bed, I headed back downstairs to face everybody else. They were all gathered in the kitchen and when I entered, all conversations stopped. I looked at Zed and then at my mother.

"Did you fill everyone in?" They nodded and I let out a sigh,dropping down onto a chair. It had been a tiring day and it wasn't even over yet.

"Victor, honey, I'm so sorry you both had to go through that." Mom placed her arms around my shoulders and hugged me apologetically. I nodded to show her I was okay but she didn't let go.

"Look on the bright side Victor," I shot Zed a sceptical look, I really couldn't see a bright side right now "your soulfinder doesn't take crap from anybody."

"Plus," Xav joined in "if Anderson thinks she's dead, he isn't likely to come looking for her is he?" I hadn't thought about that but it was true. Anderson had no reason to think she was alive so the chances of him trying to hurt her again were slim. I smiled at my family and stood up, giving mom a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks guys. I think I'm gonna go work on a few things." I reached over to grab my laptop off the counter, smiling at everyone before leaving the room.

Once settled at the desk in Zed's room, I got to work. I had made a list of things I had found interesting in River's memories and wanted to track through while they were fresh in my mind. First thing first, Mr Jones.

River had never known his first name but I figured he wouldn't be too hard to track down seeing how he had been a member of the Net and his face was pretty much etched into my mind. A few minutes of looking through the database and I was sure I had a match.

Marcus Jones  
D.O.B: 15.03.1970 (Age 45)  
Status: Missing Presumed Dead  
Job: Security advisor at Net base 3  
Family:  
\- Marth Jones (wife)  
\- Katie Jones (daughter)  
\- Chloe Jones (daughter)

Missing? River said the police had no other evidence apart from her injuries so Anderson must have moved Jones somewhere else. But why? Why take Jones but leave River?

I closed the laptop and rested my head against the cool metal of the desk. My brain was filled with thoughts and I knew I wouldn't be able to get much work done like this.

I stood up and walked over to my makeshift bed, not bothering to change out of my clothes before dropping down and covering myself with the blankets. As I drifted off to sleep, my last thoughts were of River asleep in the room down the hall.

* * *

The next couple of days passed by much the same. We kept on working our way through the trial and I tried my best to stick to the rules of the no-kissing arrangement which was a lot harder then you would think. So when I came downstairs in the morning to find her cooking in the kitchen, I had to muster up all of my self control to stop myself from ditching the agreement right then and there.

"Hey." She jumped in surprise and turned to look at me, rolling her eyes as she did so. "Where is everyone?" The house was unusually empty.

"Xav and Crystal went back to Denver and everybody else went out, something about an art gallery." I nodded and moved closer to her to see what she was making.

"What's for breakfast?"

"Well, I had the urge to eat pancakes but I don't think that's working out very well. As it turns out, I can't really cook." She let out a sigh as she looked over at her failed attempts at pancake making. I couldn't help but laugh which earned me a whack in the stomach.

"Hey, I'm delicate." She was the one laughing now. In fact she was laughing so much she almost fell over.

"Please, if you're delicate, I'm Gordon Ramsey." I sent her a hurt look and turned away from her in mock anger, waiting for the laughing to stop.

"Okay, okay. If I say I'm sorry, will you make pancakes?" I turned back around and tapped my finger against my chin in contemplation.

"I don't know. It doesn't seem like I get much from that deal. How about you apologise, with a kiss, and then I'll make pancakes?" It was River's turn to contemplate but instead of answering, she got up on her tiptoes, face centimetres away from mine.

"I think," she paused and moved in closer, lips hovering over mine "you already broke that rule enough." With that she stepped away from me and I was left stunned. This girl was driving me crazy.

I let out a groan of frustration but moved around her to get to the stove anyway, taking over the pancake I had cooked enough pancakes for the both of us, I sat down at the table.

"Want to do something today?" I had been thinking that we deserved a break from all of the work we had been doing recently. River raised an eyebrow.

"Like what?"

"I was thinking we could go in to Denver. I need to pick up a few things from work but after that, we have the whole day to look around."

"Sounds good." She stuffed the rest of her food in her mouth and jumped up from the table. "I'll go get ready."

I smiled as I heard her run up the stairs and I quickly finished eating my breakfast. I was determined to get that kiss and I knew the best way to do it.


	14. Chapter 14

**River**

Prior to living at the Benedict's, I had only been living in Denver for a few weeks so I was glad I got the chance to explore. We had been wandering around all day and now that it was starting to get dark, we decided it was a good time to eat.

"How about here?" Victor asked, swinging our interlocked hands between us. It was a small Italian place that claimed to have the "best pizza in Colorado!".

"Sure." We went inside and found a seat towards the back of the shop where there were less people. The shop itself was small but cosy and the smell of freshly-cooked pizza made me realise how hungry I was.

"Not exactly what I imagined for a first date with my soulfinder." Victor looked around the room, a small frown on his face as he took in the groups of teenagers seated next to couples who were clearly on dates. It was all a bit mix and match but I loved it.

"I know," I replied, deciding to play along "it's a bit... cheap." Victor turned to me with a worried expression and I had to struggle to not give the joke away.

"We can go somewhere else if you want. I think there's a restaurant down the road we could try." He stood up but I didn't follow; I crossed my arms and let out a huff of annoyance.

"What's the point? We'll never be allowed in after being seen in a place like this." Victor sat back down and turned me towards him.

"I'm sorry. I'll do better next time." His voice was quiet and I couldn't stop myself from dropping the act. I placed a hand on the back of his neck and pulled him closer.

"Victor, I was joking. This place is perfect, I love it." It took a second for my words to register but when they did his face broke into a smile.

"You had me for a minute there. I thought I had messed up." I shook my head at his words.

"I'm not really the type for fancy restaurants and expensive stuff. However, I am totally the type for pizza." He smiled and brought his lips down to mine and I let out a contented sigh. From the day I made that stupid agreement, I immediately regretted it. Lucky for me, Victor seemed to be unable to stick to the rules of it anyway.

We were interrupted by a cough and quickly broke apart. My cheeks started to burn as we turned to see a waitress tapping her pen against her notepad impatiently. She shot me a glare then turned towards Victor, a huge smile on her face.

"What can I get you, honey?" I grimaced at her overly sweet tone and glared right back at her. Unfortunately, she didn't see because she was too busy sending seductive glances towards Victor.

"We haven't decided yet. Can you give us a few minutes?" Her face dropped as she realised Victor wasn't looking at her and she turned and left. Once she was out of hearing distance I turned to Victor.

"Looks like you have an admirer." I nodded in her direction and Victor turned, receiving a wave and a wink from the waitress in question. "Excuse me while I go throw up."

Victor laughed at my reaction and pulled me closer to him. I sighed into his chest but couldn't deny I was jealous; I couldn't compete with a girl like that.

"You don't have to compete," he whispered, pressing a kiss to my hair "you've already won." A grin spread across my face at his words.

"In that case," I mumbled, burying my face deeper into his t-shirt "I'll have a pepperoni pizza and a coke." His laughter surrounded me and I couldn't help but join in.

* * *

When we finished eating, I got up to use the bathroom. After being unable to find it by myself, I finally gave up and asked a member of staff.

"We don't really have the space in here so the toilets are outside. Walk out the door, turn right and you'll be there. You're gonna need this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key.

I quickly thanked him and made my way outside, refusing an offer from Victor to come with me. It wasn't hard to find but the crowds of people on the street made it difficult to get to. It seemed Denver woke up at the night time.

When I was finished, I stepped back outside, making sure to lock the door behind me. As I turned to head back to the restaurant, I froze. People continued to push past me but my eyes were locked on one man only.

He stood on the other side of the road and stared back at me, mouth twisted in a smile, hand up in greeting. He hadn't change much, the only difference being that his once pitch black hair was now shot through with white.

My mind kicked back into gear and my body obliged, moving as fast as I could in the opposite direction. I ran through the crowded streets, pushing past people in desperation of putting as much distance as I could between myself and him. I didn't dare stop till my legs ached and my lungs were burning.

I fell back against a wall and closed my eyes, heaving for air. I unclenched my fists and jumped at the sound of something hitting the floor._ It was just the bathroom key._ My eyes flew open as I remembered Victor. He was still at the restaurant.

_Victor!_ I screamed the message and he replied instantly. He was okay.

_River what's wrong? I wondered why you were taking so long. Where are you?_

_Victor you have to leave. Now._

_Where are you? I'll come get you?_

_No! Go home. I'll meet you there but you have to leave now!_

_River, tell me where you are!_

I cut off the conversation and threw up my shields. I could feel him trying to get in but I couldn't let him. He had to get away from here and so did I. I started to run again until I came to a main road. Hailing the first cab I could, I jumped inside.

"I need to get to Wrikenwridge, fast." I was out of breath and my whole body was shaking.

"Are you okay, miss? Wrikenwridge is a long way away. Are you sure thats where you want to go." He was only trying to help but I couldn't deal with this right now.

"Just drive!" He nodded and turned back to the road, putting his foot down and speeding up.


	15. Chapter 15

**River**

When I got to the Benedict's, I jumped out of the cab, throwing some money into the front seat and running for the door. There were lights on but I didn't bother knocking; I flung open the door and headed for the stairs, ignoring Karla and going straight to my room. I heard the front door slam open again and then Victor's voice.

"Where is she?" He shouted and must have gotten a reply because he ran into my room a few seconds later followed by the rest of his family.

"River." He pulled me towards him, checking for injuries before wrapping me in a hug. "What the hell happened? I thought someone had hurt you!" I let out a sob and pulled away from him, continuing to stuff my things into a bag. He took the bag from me and threw it on to the bed, placing his hands on either side of my face so I had to look him in the eye.

"Tell me what happened." I remained silent, unsure if telling him would be a good idea or not. "Now!" I let out another sob and then another.

"I saw him. He was in Denver. He knew where we were, victor. He already knew!" I started crying then, unable to hold it back any longer; I couldn't stand the thought of what I had done. I had lead him straight to the Benedict's. Straight to victor.

"Who? Who did you see?"

"Anderson." There was a gasp from behind us and Victor let out a line of curse words.

"What did he say to you? Did he do anything?" I shook my head. He didn't have too because he already knew I remembered what he was capable of.

"He's going to find me Victor. I have to leave or he's going to come here." I pulled away from my soulfinder but he reached for me again.

"I won't let anything happen to you. You're not going anywhere. You're staying with me." I pushed him away from me, ignoring the look of hurt that flashed across his face. This was for his own good.

"I can't stay with you! He wants me dead and he won't stop until that happens. If I stay here, he will hurt you too! He will hurt all of you and I'm not going to let that happen. Oh god! I shouldn't have come back here!" I fell on the floor, struggling to breath. He was going to kill them and it would be my fault. Victor dropped to the floor next to me and pulled me in to a hug.

"Listen to me, River. Nothing's going to happen to any of us. I'm not going to let you leave and I'm not going to let anyone get hurt, okay? Anderson doesn't know where you are and even if he did, we have enough precautions in place to make sure he can't get anywhere close to the house. I'm not going to loose you." He looked towards his family and they nodded, leaving us alone in the room.

He rocked me back and forth until the tears stopped and I was left with puffy eyes and a sore throat. I couldn't believe his words no matter how much I wanted too. I knew what Anderson could do and I couldn't risk it. I had to leave. The only problem was that the Benedict's wouldn't allow me to. Especially not Victor. I had to find another way.

"Feeling better?" His voice pulled me from my thoughts and I nodded my head, not trusting my voice. I was going to have to convince him that escape was no longer on my mind.

"Are you sure that he can't come here?" I asked, clutching on to him and trying to look sincere.

"I'm sure. I'm not going to let you get hurt. I promise." I nodded at his words and wrapped my arms around him.

"Will you stay in here with me tonight?" I knew it would make it harder for me to leave but it would also make him believe I was going to stay.

"Of course." He picked me up effortlessly and took me over to the bed. When we were under the covers, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me towards him. I snuggled into him and took a deep breath. Tonight would be a long night.

* * *

I don't know how much time passed, but after what seemed like forever, Victor's breathing slowed and his tight grip became loose. Inching out from his grasp, I shuffled off the bed and stood up, shaking the tiredness from my body.

Slowly moving over to where my bag lay on the floor, I picked it up and threw it over my shoulder. I didn't have to worry about packing as I had managed to shove all of my stuff in it earlier so I quickly made my way out of the door, closing it gently behind me.

Thanks to my last late night trip around the house, I knew where everything was and made it downstairs almost effortlessly. It turns out that sneaking out of a house full of savants wasn't particularly difficult.

I paused by the door to pull on my shoes and made the mistake of looking at the framed picture on the wall. The dim light from the window illuminated the photo and the sight of Victor's face sent a bolt of pain through my heart; I quickly dismissed it and carried on. I was doing this to save him and his family. I wasn't going to be the cause of their deaths like I was Mr Jones'.

I was just about to open the door when I remembered what Victor had said about precautions. I had never seen any cameras or anything like that so I guessed the defences they had in place had something to do with their gifts. I dropped my shields and let my gift free; I could sense something around the house, almost a mental wall. Great, my speciality.

Putting my shields on full power, I opened the door. Nothing. Closing it gently behind me, I started walking. When I got to the boarder of the property, I came to a stop. I could feel the barrier and I hoped it would be within my gifts range to simply walk through it. I took a step forward ready to run if necessary but I passed through the barrier without a hitch. It made me wonder who else could get past without the Benedict's even knowing.

Once I was a good way away from the house, I started to run. It hadn't been my plan but I couldn't stand to walk, couldn't stand to pretend like nothing was wrong. My chest ached and tears flooded my eyes but it had nothing to do with the running. I had left behind my soulfinder and with him, a piece of my heart.

* * *

I ran until I was completely lost; I had passed through town a while ago and was know running down a long dirt road that was fenced off on both sides by thick trees and the occasional house.

Coming to a stop, I bent over my knees and gasped for air; the though of all the voluntary exercise I had done today made me want to laugh but the only sound that came was a twisted sob.

"Hello, princess."

My stomach dropped and I slowly stood up. I didn't need to turn around to know who the voice belonged to but I did anyway. He was standing alone in the middle of the road, looking out of place in his knock-off suit and polished shoes.

"Long time, no see." His voice was slimy and cold "You've changed." His eyes raked over my body and he grinned in a way that was all teeth and no humour.

"You haven't." I replied copying his actions "Seven years later and you're still dressing worse then a five dollar hooker." He let out a growl and took a step towards me.

"I've warned you before about that sharp tongue of yours. It will be the end of you." I laughed at his words and he seemed taken aback but only for a second before he regained his composure.

"What are you going to do? Shoot me?"

"No. I'd much sooner put a bullet in your soulfinder." I met his eyes and shrugged my shoulders. His mind games wouldn't work on me.

"I don't know what your talking about." My voice was cold and nonchalant, not giving anything away.

"Of course you do but that can wait. Right now, I'm here to ask for your help." He raised his hand in the air and in a blink, I was surrounded by what I assumed were his thugs. Two of the biggest guys stepped forward and grabbed me in a vice-like grip, making sure I couldn't go anywhere.

"Ask?" I replied, nodding towards the two men "It doesn't really seem like I have much choice in the matter." He let out a laugh and moved closer, stopping inches away from me and leaning in closer to my face.

"You don't, but you are going to help me. You're going to help me kill Victor Benedict." I didn't let myself react, I wouldn't give him the pleasure. Instead I decided to do the only thing I could do in my current situation; I head-butted James Anderson in the face.


	16. Chapter 16

**River**

I woke up with a blinding headache through no fault but my own. I vaguely remembered being shoved into a car but after that, things got blurry. With no idea about how long I had been out cold for, I looked around for someway to tell the time. No clock. No windows. Nothing. The building seemed awfully familiar but I couldn't quite place it thanks to the pounding ache behind my eyes.

My thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Anderson. He entered the room flanked by a group of his thugs and they quickly set down a chair for him in front of me and handed him a glass of something that was probably alcoholic.

"And you call me the princess." I scoffed as he sat down. I had no tolerance for him on a good day but since he revealed his plan to harm Victor, my hatred for him had increased drastically. I took in the angry bruise that spread across his nose and cheek, admiring my work. "I must admit, you look better when half of your face is swollen." He nodded towards one of his men and I was quickly gagged.

"Since you can't keep your mouth shut, I'll shut it for you. We have a lot to talk about. Well I do, you'll just have to listen." He smirked at his own joke and I rolled my eyes; at least I didn't have to worry about him out-smarting me.

"You want to know what intrigues me about you?" I stared at him blankly "You never asked why. Never asked me what makes me kill, what makes me decide who lives and who dies. I admire that." Great, I can have that carved on my gravestone.

"Recognition. That's what I desire. Everyone want to be remembered, I'm sure you do, princess. The only difference between me and you is that I'm willing to work for that. By the time I die, my legacy will be known world wide; every household will know me, every child will cower at my name." He paused his speech, and a sick smile crossed his face. He was truly delusional. All of this, all these murders, were purely for recognition.

"On the other hand, by the time you die, which may be very soon, no one will even know you existed. I won't let that happen to me. That's where your precious little soulfinder comes in. What better way to get noticed then to kill a Benedict and for an added bonus, he's also a Fed. Like killing two birds with one stone." He stood up and moved towards me, ripping the fabric roughly away from my mouth.

"Your job is quite simple. All you have to do is make him come to you."

"Simple is not the word I would use. Somewhere in that deluded little mind of yours, it seems you made the mistake of thinking I would actually participate in this plan of yours." He let out a laugh and trailed his fingers down my face.

"Such a pretty thing, but not very smart. You don't have to participate, you just have to sit pretty. We'll handle the rest." With that, the gag was reapplied and a camera was placed in front of me. He hit record and started talking.

"As you can see, Benedict, I had the pleasure of meeting your soulfinder again. It did surprise me to find out she was alive but in the end, it all played out perfectly. If you want to see her again, you will come to Oxford street tonight at seven. Alone of course or I will have to kill her. I look forward to our meeting. I'd ask your soulfinder how she felt but as you can see, she a bit tied up at the moment. You have three hours."

I sat still in my chair. If he wanted to play a game, I was more then willing to join in. Victor was meant to arrive in three hours. Alone. I sincerely hoped he wouldn't be stupid enough to actually follow the rules. All I could do was trust that he would have a plan and try to make one myself. Anderson had pissed me off for the last time, and this time I wouldn't be the one getting shot.


	17. Chapter 17

**Victor**

I slammed the laptop shut and threw it across the room, Xav caught it just in time to stop it from crashing into the wall. He sent me a worried look and I had to control my anger. Why was he worried about me? It was River who was in trouble.

I had watched and re-watched the video, my pain growing every time I saw her tied in that chair, mouth covered. This couldn't be happening. I took a deep breath; I would be no use to River if I was acting like this. I needed to remain calm and think of a way to get her out of there.

* * *

Two hours later, I had managed to patch together a plan. I had called in favours from everyone I knew and had enlisted the help of the FBI; if everything ran smoothly, I would be out of there with River in no time.

"Victor, are you sure you want to go alone?" Trace put a hand on my shoulder and turned me around. They were all worried by that part of the plan but it was something I needed to do.

"If I don't, she could get hurt. I'm not willing to risk that." If anyone was going to get hurt, it was Anderson. If he thought he could get away with doing this to her again, he was clearly delusional.

"Just be safe, honey. Don't do anything reckless." Mom pulled me into a hug before letting me go and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I won't. I promise." I shouldn't have because I knew it was a lie; if it came down to it, I would trade my life for River's in a heartbeat. I finished getting ready and grabbed the car keys.

"You all know what to do?" I received a nod from everyone and took a breath, heading for the door.

* * *

**River**

Anderson had changed his suit and was pacing around the room, waiting for Victor to arrive. More and more minutes passed and I was starting to hope he wasn't coming, this would be much easier if he stayed out of Anderson's trap.

The door banged open and both Anderson and I snapped to attention; Victor was escorted in by four men, all holding guns to his head. I let my eyes roam over his body, as much as I didn't want him here, I couldn't stop my heart beating faster when I saw him.

He met my eyes and gave me a small smile that seemed forced. Something was wrong. I took in his slightly disheveled appearance and guessed they had frisked him before he had been aloud in. Chances are, they found whatever he was trying to hide.

_Are you okay?_

_Yes. Are yo-_

"We'll have none of that." Our telepathic conversation was cut of as Anderson's voice boomed through the room. "As heartwarming as this little reunion is, now is most definitely not the time." He gestured for Victor to be brought forward so we were all positioned in a triangle formation.

"Get her out of the chair but keep a hold on her, she's feisty." I was pulled out of my chair and my bindings and gag were removed.

"I'm not feisty, you just piss me off." Anderson laughed at my remark and Victor sent me a look of warning. He clearly thought pissing Anderson off was the wrong thing to do but I disagreed. When he was angry, he got sloppy and right now, that might be our best chance of getting out of here alive.

"I have been kind towards you up until now. It would be a shame if that were to change when this whole thing is so close to being over." He moved over to Victor but I didn't move my eyes from his.

"I wouldn't exactly call it kind. More like kidnapping and first degree murder, or would that be attempted murder, seeing as you didn't succeed the first time."

"River, don't." Victor called out in warning but it was too late, Anderson's breathing became heavy and his eyes narrowed. I had struck a nerve.

"Remember that this is your fault." He swung round and hit Victor in the stomach. My chest ached at the sight but I couldn't react, that was what he wanted. If I showed weakness now, I would only make him hurt Victor more. Anderson struck him a view more times but I remained unmoving and nonchalant; seeing this, he stopped and walked towards me.

"You don't seem to care that your soulfinder's in pain." A grin crossed his face and he cast a glance at Victor. "Let's see if he does." With that he brought his fist to my face with a crack.

"Don't touch her you scumbag!" Victor shouted and struggled against the grip of the men restraining him.

"How touching. It makes me sick." Anderson shouted as he aimed lower and hit me in the stomach. He continued to hit me until I fell to the floor, bloodied and exhausted. Victor was still shouting; curse word after curse word were aimed at Anderson but he didn't acknowledge Victor in the slightest.

"Get her up." He ordered and I was once again dragged to my feet. "As much as I'm enjoying this, I want it wrapped up quickly."

"You see, Mr Benedict, the reason I brought you here is to die. You came running to your little princess like I knew you would without even thinking of the repercussions. I hope you understand, I'm not going to let you leave here alive."

"That's fine." My head snapped up and I tried to catch Victor's eyes but he wouldn't look at me. "Kill me but let her go. I'm what you want, she isn't needed."

"Victor, shut up! Don't make deals like that, it's my decision too!" I tried to run towards him but was quickly pulled back. I wasn't about to let him give his life for mine.

"Now, now princess. I'm afraid I have to agree with your soulfinder. You're not needed. And there's only one thing to do with useless people." He pulled a gun from his waist band and aimed it at me.

"I swear to God, if you hurt her, I will kill you!" Victor's voice was cold but loud and both I and Anderson knew he was telling the truth.

"I thought you'd say something like that, which is why I don't plan on hurting her. In a business like this, you need a powerful gift if you want to survive. From what I've heard, Mr Benedict, my gift is quite similar to yours; I have the gift of manipulation. I'm not going to kill her, she's going to kill herself." Victor's shouts were cut off as Anderson's voice entered my mind.

_I am going to give you this gun and you are going to shoot yourself in the head. Do you understand?_ Images of what he described flashed across my mind and the urge to do as he said was overwhelming. I nodded.

I took the gun from his hand and was released by the men who were holding me still. Wobbling slightly on my feet, I started to walk forward until I was away from everyone else but could still clearly see them all. I would need a good vantage point if this was going to work.

I lifted the gun to my head and pressed the barrel against my temple. I could see myself pulling the trigger, dropping to the floor, lying in a puddle of my own blood. I should do it. I should do what I was told to do.

Victor was screaming, begging me not to do it, begging me to listen to him. I looked at his face, the face I had come to love over these past few days. Then I looked at Anderson, the man who was trying to ruin it all. The man I had hated for years. I wouldn't let him win. Wouldn't let that smug grin stay on his face for long.

I took a deep breath and placed my finger on the trigger; I had shot a gun many times before at the range and I was hoping all that training would pay off. One last look at Victor's tear-streaked face was all I needed.

I moved the gun from my face in the blink of an eye and pulled the trigger, bullet hitting Anderson straight in the leg. There was a moment of stunned silence before all hell broke loose. Anderson's men all pulled out their weapons but before they had a chance to fire, the door of the warehouse was blown open and groups of FBI agents piled in.

Guns were fired and one after the other Anderson's men dropped to the ground. I dropped the gun and stood in the middle of it all, unable to move out of the way as bullets flew past me. A pair of hands grabbed me by the waist and pulled me towards a strong chest. Eventually the gunfire stopped.

I looked up and came face to face with Victor. Before I could say anything, he grabbed my face and crushed his lips to mine. I gripped onto his shirt and pulled him closer, letting out a gasp as his fingers slid under my top and brushed against my spine. Our bodies were pushed together but it still wasn't close enough and he pulled me harder against him as he deepened the kiss, letting out a groan and moving his hands further up my back.

"Get a room!" The voice broke through my daze and I snapped back to my senses, suddenly remembering that we were in a room full of people. I felt myself turn red and I gently pushed Victor away only to have him pull me back again.

"I just nearly lost you, I'm not gonna let go of you anytime soon." He murmured into my hair, ignoring the whistles and cat calls that were coming from some of the FBI agents closest to us.

"You didn't nearly loose me. I never planned on shooting myself in the head." He looked at me, face scrunched up in confusion.

"My gift is like free will. When someone tries to force me into anything, my mind can tell and I can over-rule their manipulation. Anderson made me feel as though I should shoot myself but my mind let me make the final decision." He stroked a finger across my cheek and let out a laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"I have the gift of compulsion and it won't even work on you." I hit him in the stomach for that one.

"You shouldn't even be thinking about using your gift on-"

"ANDERSON'S LOOSE!" The shout came from behind us and we spun around, Victor positioning himself in front of me. Anderson stood with his arm around an agents neck, gun pressed to their head. His leg was bleeding heavily but he seemed to only be focused on Victor.

"I told you I wouldn't let you leave here alive Benedict!" He let out a distorted laugh and aimed the gun at Victor "I won't go back on that!" He fired and I reacted, pushing Victor out of the way just in time. The bullet hit me but I didn't feel the pain, Victor was safe and that was all that mattered. Guns fired again and the last thing I saw before giving into the darkness was Anderson drop to his knees.


	18. Chapter 18

**River**

My eyes begrudgingly opened and I had to squint in the bright white light that surrounded me. My whole body was sore and pain rippled through my chest with every breath. I let out a groan and tried to sit up; it was no use, my body wouldn't comply.

Giving up, I looked around the room for a clue as to where I was. The walls were white, the ceiling was white, my bed was white. The only other colour came from the vase of flowers that was placed on the table across the room. Red, purple, yellow.

I looked down towards my body; I was wearing a white gown and my arms contained a scattering of tubes and needles. One arm was connected to a bag of clear liquid, the other was connected to a bag of crimson liquid. Blood. Why did I need blood?

The door opened and my head shot up causing me to feel nauseous. The way the room span around made me want to laugh. It felt like I was on a roundabout. A doctor came in and brought a cup of water to my mouth so I could have a drink. The cool liquid numbed the soreness of my throat.

"How are you feeling, Miss Heartly?"

"Funny. There was spinning and my body hurts." My voice was croaky and broke at every other word. I laughed at how ridiculous I sounded.

"That can all be sorted out easily. This button here controls your morphine levels. As soon as you feel any pain, press the button."

"Why do I need morphine?"

"You were in an accident. You got shot." When did I get shot? I lifted a hand to my face and covered my eyes, trying to remember the events that had resulted in me ending up here. Everything was blurry and out of focus but i slowly began to piece it all back together. Anderson. A gun. Victor. Victor! I rushed to get up but I was pushed back down by the doctor.

"You have to take it easy or your going to cause more damage."

"I need to see Victor! Please, I need to see if he's okay!" I struggled frantically against his grasp but he held on, not allowing me to move.

"There are people waiting outside. I can let them in but you have to calm down!" I stopped moving and went limp, he let out a sigh and moved towards the door.

"Don't move." I nodded and waited impatiently for his return. I was going to see Victor. Why wasn't he already here? Was he not allowed in? The door opened again and Karla rushed in, quickly followed by Saul; she took a seat on the edge of the bed and brushed the hair from my forehead.

"Poor sweetheart. How are you feeling?" She sounded worried but I was too busy looking at the door to reassure her that I was fine.

"Where's Victor?" I looked at her but she lowered her head, refusing to meet my eyes. I looked to Saul but he mirrored his wife's actions, looking at anything but me.

"Is he... Did he get hurt?" My voice was a high pitched squeak but I had no control over it or the tears that started to gather in my eyes.

"No! No, it's not that. He's fine. It's just," Karla took my hands in hers and finally looked up enough for me to see that her eyes were also glossy from unshed tears. "he's blaming himself for what happened to you. He said he won't visit, can't visit, because he thinks you blame him too. He doesn't think you want to see him anymore."

I tried to swallow the lump that was in my throat. How could he think this was his fault? How could he think I didn't want to see he anymore? I reached out to him telepathically but his shields were up and don't budge in the slightest as I mentally pounded against them. I let out a sob and the tears finally started to fall.

"I need to see him. I need to tell him it's not his fault! It's not his fault!" I tried to get up from the bed but Karla gently pushed me back down again and again until my body ached and I was out of breath.

"Victor! Victor, please! Please." My hands were shaking and my chest was set on fire with every breath as I called out to him even though I knew he wouldn't answer. I groaned in pain as my heart started to ache and looked up to see Saul reach across for the morphine button. Before I knew it, I was being plunged into darkness again.

* * *

**River**

Days passed, then weeks. I slowly recovered from the bullet wound but the ache in my heart only grew bigger as the days progressed. The Benedict's had constantly been keeping me company but the one person I truly wanted to see was still gone.

I pushed my thoughts aside and focused on the TV screen; I had sent the Benedict's home to rest and had been spending the last four hours marathoning CSI. The detectives ran through an empty building, unaware of the danger that was waiting for them. They came to a stop in front of the killer; I had guessed right when I had pinned the murders on the yoga teacher but the excitement didn't envelope me like it usually did when I picked the right killer. It made me angry.

I turned off the TV and threw the remote on to the bed. I couldn't even enjoy CSI anymore because I was too busy wallowing in self pity. I was sick of having to sit here doing nothing while Victor went ahead and made all of the decisions for me. If he didn't want to come to me, I'd just have to go to him.

I sat up and placed my feet on the cold, linoleum floor; I hadn't walked much in the past two weeks, only really getting up to change my clothes and even then, that was with the help of someone else. Pushing myself of the bed, I stood up wobbling slightly before gaining my balance. I took a step and then another. It really wasn't that bad; I had a dull pain in my ribs every time I moved but it wasn't anything major.

I slipped on my trainers and headed for the door. The hospital was quiet apart from the distant sounds of machinery and the occasional nurse or doctor. I had always liked hospitals and the cream walls and slightly chemical smell calmed me as I walked along the corridor. People normally hated the maze like structure and the confusing maps but I always saw it as an adventure and today was no different.

The soft thud from my footsteps became the beat for my new found mantra. _Find Victor. Find Victor. Find Victor._ I was nearly at the elevator when I noticed their was another set of footsteps echoing in the corridor.

"River! Wait up!" I frozen but only for a second before I sped up. "Hey! Wait a minute!" A hand grabbed my shoulder and stopped me from going any further. I took a deep breath and turned around, trying to get rid of the "my puppy just died" expression I had been rocking recently.

"What's up, Xav?" His breathing was slightly heavy and I guessed he had been running. Probably looking for me.

"The sky, but now is not the time to be talking about the weather. I've been running around for the past ten minutes trying to find you because somebody left their room without telling anyone where they were going." I could tell he was joking but it still made me angry.

"I'm not a kid, Xav. Last time I checked, I could go for a walk whenever I wanted to." He flinched slightly at my tone and I immediately felt bad. He had been healing me and making me laugh for the majority of my stay in the hospital and now I was being a jerk to him.

"Sorry. It's just..." I trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

"I understand. You've been through a lot and I'm guessing the whole Victor situation isn't helping much."

"I just want to see him. He's not even giving me the chance to talk to him. To tell him he's being an idiot.

"If it's any consolation, we've all tried to speak to him about it. Maybe if we keep at him, he'll actually start to think about what he's doing. I imagine its just as hard for him as it is for you." Xav gave me a smile and pulled me in the opposite direction in the elevators. I didn't protest and fell into step beside him. After a few minutes of walking, he broke the silence.

"So what was the plan? You were going to walk to Wrikenwridge, kick down the door and demand to talk to him?"

"Something like that. Maybe I would have gotten a cab though, walking sucks." He laughed and I gave him a smile in return. I was always glad for moments like this; he was currently holding the number one spot for my favourite brother but I wasn't going to tell him that.

"It's a good thing I found you then." I looked at him in question. "He's not staying in Wrikenwridge."

"Then he's still here? Still in Denver?"

"Something like that." I got the feeling their was more to that answer but he spoke before I could ask.

"So, how does hospital food and bad television sound?"

"Heavenly."


	19. Chapter 19

**Victor**

The last two weeks had been pure hell. River was lying in a hospital bed and my stupidity meant I couldn't even be with her. After all, I was the reason she was here. It was me Anderson wanted and in the end, she got hurt trying to protect me. I couldn't allow myself to speak to her after that; I was too much of a self pitying coward and couldn't bare to hear the words she would no doubt say. Why would she want to be with me when I was the cause of her getting hurt? I had promised her. I had told her that Anderson wouldn't hurt her again and I allowed him to.

I turned over and buried my face in the pillow. I couldn't stand hospitals but I couldn't bring myself to leave either. The doctors had been reluctant to let me stay here but a quick flash of my badge soon had me set up in an empty room not that far from River's. I heard the door open and someone walk in.

"Victor, we need to talk." I ignored him and remained face down on the bed. I didn't want to talk and I definitely wasn't in the mood for Xav's stupid behaviour.

"NOW!" Lifting my head, I looked at my brother. It was strange to hear him shout like that; it wasn't often that he raised his voice. I turned around and sat up, brushing a hand over my face.

"What?"

"Don't play dumb, Victor, you know why I'm here." I really didn't need to have this conversation again. The whole family had each had a go at trying to talk to me. It was starting to piss me off.

"For the last time. I'm not talking about this."

"For God sake! Have you looked in a mirror lately? You look like crap! You spend all your time moping around in here and I'm starting to get sick of it." I got off the bed and stormed over to him, my face inches from his.

"How do you think I feel? You think I like being stuck in here with her only a few doors away? You have no idea what I'm going through!" I was shouting now but I didn't care, I was sick of them all pretending they knew what I was feeling.

"You're not going through anything! You want to know who's going through hell? Your soulfinder! She sits in her room all day every day, trying to hide the fact that she hurting and it's all your fault!" He pushed me hard on the shoulder and I staggered back; I didn't have the strength to argue with him anymore.

"You think I don't know that. I know this is my fault and that's why I can't go to her. Why would she want to see the person that got her hurt?" I sounded pathetic but I couldn't help it. My heart was constantly aching and the hole in it grew bigger every time I though about her sitting alone in her room.

"You really are stupid, aren't you?" He walked to the door and pulled it open before tuning back to me. "She doesn't blame you for anything. She misses you, Victor. She needs you. But she won't wait forever." With that he left and I slumped back onto the bed.

She won't wait forever. I was losing my soulfinder. Eventually she would move on. She would find someone else to spend her life with. That thought made me angry. I didn't want her being with someone else. I wanted her with me. I wanted to eat pizza with her and watch CSI with her curled in my arms. I wanted to peel fruit for her and watch her as she read. I wanted her. I needed her.

I stood up and walked to the door. I had to see her. I had to know that I tried everything to get her to forgive me; I would beg if that's what was needed for her to be mine again.

The walk to her room was short but when I arrived at her door, my courage disappeared. I looked down at my clothes and realised too late that I should have probably changed. I had slept in these clothes and hadn't showered or shaved in days which meant I was looking very similar to a hobo.

I glanced up through the small window in the door and saw her siting alone on the bed. This wasn't the first time I had been here; it was a daily occurrence. If I couldn't be with her, at least I could see her, know that she was okay.

She was looking at the TV but she wasn't concentrating on the show. Her eyes kept moving around the room and she was fidgeting with her hands. Her hair was pulled back from her face and I could see the dark circles under her eyes, telling me that she wasn't sleeping well.

I placed my hand on the door handle but I couldn't open it. I kept staring at her and when her eyes moved up and meet mine, it was such a shock that I was frozen in place. Only when she stood up and started towards the door did my mind kick into gear and I quickly moved backwards, away from the door and away from River.


	20. Chapter 20

**Exams have meant I haven't had much time for this story so I'm sorry for the neglect. Thank you all for being patient and not hating me too much!**

* * *

Xav had left a while ago so I was back to sitting on my own, pretending to watch TV. In truth, I didn't even know what show was on or what was happening in it; I was too busy trying to take my mind off Victor.

Unfortunately, my brain was a traitor and all I could think of was him. This was driving me mad. I gave one last look at the TV before deciding what to do; I had been trapped in this hospital way to long. I was getting out of here and this time there would be no one to stop me.

I glanced at the clock, trying to guess how long I had before the nurse would come to check on me; I was pretty sure the Benedict's had bribed her to keep an eye on me seeing as she never left me alone. Guessing I had about 20 minutes, I moved to look towards the door and my breath hitched in my throat; Victor stood outside, staring back at me. My heartbeat sped up as I drank in his face; he had black circles under his eyes and his jaw was covered with stubble but he had never looked so good.

I stood abruptly and started towards the door but the smile that was about to work its way across my face never succeeded. Victor wasn't smiling back. He wasn't even looking at me anymore. All I could see was his back as he walked away.  
My hand wrapped tightly around the door handle and the cool metal dug into my hand. Was this some sort of game to him? Did he really think he could show up after weeks of being MIA and then just walk away again?

Pulling open the door, I ignored the thud it made as it slammed back against the wall. I was too pissed off to care about disturbing the other people on this floor. This was the final straw; it was about time he learnt that he didn't get to make all the decision in this relationship.

"HEY!" My voice echoed loudly through the corridor and he stopped dead in his tracks giving me a chance to storm down the corridor and catch up with him. When I reached him, I used all my strength to push him, ignoring the sharp pain that traveled through my body. He stumbled forward before turning to face me. The look of shock on his face only added fuel to the fire.

"What the hell is your problem?!" My voice was way to loud but I couldn't bring myself to care. The pain that had been building up over the days had turned to anger and adrenaline coursed through my body, causing my breathing to become deep and my hands to curl into fists.

"River, I- I didn't..." He refused to meet my eyes and instead stuttered at the floor instead. I scoffed at his inability to finish his sentence but the fact he couldn't even meet my eyes added to the pain building in my chest.

"Didn't what, Victor? Didn't come to see me? Didn't bother to ask how I felt? Didn't think about how your decisions would affect me? Trust me, I know you didn't!"

"River, I thought-"

"Save it! You had your chance to talk but you wasted it. It's my turn now." I could feel the anger slowly draining from my body; now that I was finally with him, I don't want to fight or argue, I just wanted to be with him. I pushed those thoughts aside, however, and carried on. If I didn't say what I had to now, I doubted I ever would.

"How do you think I felt waking up in hospital and seeing you weren't there? Your parents couldn't even look me in the eye. I thought... I thought something had happened to you." Tears threatened to fall but I brushed them away with the back of my hand and carried on.

"Then I had to find out from other people that it was your choice to stay away. That you had the audacity to think that I would blame someone else for a decision I made."

"You call that a decision?!" The loudness of his reply took me off guard. He finally met my eyes but the normal silver-grey colour was now verging on black.

"That wasn't a decision! That was a stupid risk you took that almost got you killed!" The anger was back but the tears were still there and this time I didn't bother to stop them and instead allowed them to trail down my face.

"Exactly! It was a risk I took! ME! So how come you were so idiotic as to think I would blame you for it? Is that the kind of person you think I am? Someone who blames others for my actions?" I went to push him again but he quickly grabbed my wrist, holding me back.

"What was I supposed to think? My soulfinder got hurt because she stupidly tried to protect me. Of course I blamed myself and I had every right to assume you would too. I'm meant to protect you and I couldn't even do that!" The anger drained from his face and he let go of my wrist, flinching when he saw the red mark that was starting to blossom across my skin.

He staggered backwards till he hit a wall and ran his fingers through his hair repeatedly, messing it up more then it already was. I took a step toward him but he shook his head and I stopped still.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry. You keep getting hurt because of me. I can't do this. I can't stand not being able to protect you." His voice was quiet and his eyes were shut tightly. He was my soulfinder and he was hurting. That's one thing I couldn't stand. The anger and sadness that had been building up had disappeared and all that was left was me. Sarcastic, socially incapable River. All I needed now was my Victor.

"I used to think you were smart but you really are an idiot, aren't you? The only person that hurt me was that jackass Anderson and from what I've heard, he isn't exactly going to be able to do that again. And for your information, I don't need protecting. I need someone who knows how to peel fruit." A small smile played across his lips and it was all the motivation I needed.

I walked towards him and curled my hands into the soft material of his t-shirt. His eyes snapped opened in surprise but before he could get a word in, I crushed my lips against his. He responded straight away and brought his arms up to wrap around me, pulling me impossibly closer to him. The kiss was filled with desperation and longing and we reluctantly pulled apart to gasp for air before our lips met again. Victor moved his hands to my thighs and easily lifted me so I could wrap my legs around him. His hands found there way under my shirt to rest at the small of my back and I sighed in content and the warm feeling they sent up my spine.

"OH MY GOD!" We flinched at the loud voice and moved apart to see the source of it. Crystal, Sky and Phoenix were all standing at the end of the corridor, mouths hanging open in shock. I could feel my face getting hot and I tried to wiggle out of Victors arms but he held me to him tightly.

"W-we just..." I stuttered, unsure of how exactly I could explain what we had been doing without dying of embarrassment.

"Xav! Come quick! River and Vic were totally about to get it on in the corridor." Crystal shouted loud enough to wake the dead or at the very least, all the patients on this floor. Footsteps could be heard at an alarming pace and Xav sprinted round the corner before skidding to a halt by his soulfinder's side.

"Oh snap. Moms gonna die when she finds out about this!" Victor and I shot him a glare but he only laughed which caused us to glare even more.

"I'm happy to see you guys figured it out but this is a public building. There are children here. For everyone's sake, get a room!" Victor smirked at his little brother's words.

"Gladly." He turned and took walked into the room closest to us, shutting the door behind him and finally letting me down.

"Now, where were we?"


	21. Chapter 21

**This is it guys! The final chapter! I will be posting an A/N after this so it would be great if y'all could give it a read!**

* * *

**One week later**

**River**

The time had finally come when I was allowed to leave the hospital and I was happy about it to say the least. Although I was glad that Victor was back, he took on the role of protector a little to seriously; the past week had been spent barely lifting a finger or doing anything for myself and when he decided he was going to carry me everywhere, I had to remind him that I wasn't shot in the leg and that I could in fact still walk.

The car ride back to Wrickenwridge was long and it gave me time to think about the events of the last couple of months. The one that stuck out most was the living arrangements. The Benedict's had opened up their house to offer me a place to stay while I was a witness but now that Anderson was dead, there was no need for a trial and no need for me to remain there.

I let that sink in. I didn't want to burden the Benedict's but I also couldn't bring myself to go back to living in a hotel. My mind turned towards thoughts of Victor and living with him but the heat that crept across my face told me that now was probably not a good time to be thinking like that; especially because it was just the two of us in the car and the thought of pulling over for some privacy was extremely tempting right now.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and made a clear plan to stay well over my side of the car until we reached Wrickenwridge.

* * *

**Victor**

The drive to Wrickenwridge was spent in comfortable silence and it gave me chance to think about what was going to happen. As soon as the doctors said River could go home, mom got straight into planning a welcome home party for her. I had been reluctant at first, wanting to keep her to myself, but I had warmed to the idea and was now looking forward to seeing how she would react. Although, mom had promised to keep it as a small celebration, things always ended up getting out of hand and I was counting on that to properly welcome River into the family.

That thought made me smile. She was part of the family. She was mine. I looked over at her and my smile grew; her head rested against the window and even in the dim light of the car, I could tell she was blushing.

"Care to share your thoughts?"

"No!" Her voice was high pitched and her eyes were wide in shock; she was clearly surprised I had noticed her embarrassment.

"So it's like that is it?" I sent her a smirk and raised my eyebrows. "Did I happen to play apart in those thoughts?" She scoffed at me and rolled her eyes.

"You wish! I was just thinking about that extremely handsome doctor..." She sighed and clasped her hands over her heart. It was my turn to scoff.

"You mean the one that was about 50 and had a combover? I didn't think that was your type." She turned to me, a look of nonchalance on her face.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, sweetie. I just wish I had gotten his number. What a wasted opportunity!" I narrowed my eyes at her and reached across the seat to snatch one of her hands; pressing a quick kiss to it before entwining my fingers with hers.

"You can have my number instead, okay?" She laughed at my statement and rested her head back against the window.

"Okay."

* * *

**River**

When we finally arrived at the house, it wasn't lit up like I thought it would be; it had long since gotten dark outside and the lack of light streaming through the windows meant something was clearly wrong.

"What's up? Why aren't there any lights on?" I directed my question towards Victor but didn't take my eyes off the house. I had a bad feeling about this.

"I don't know. Wait here, I'll go check." He didn't seem the slightest bit nervousness or worried as he got out of the car and made his way towards the house. Pulling the key out of his pocket, he let himself in, closing the door behind him.

I sat for what seemed like hours in the dark car waiting for the lights to flicker on and show that everything was okay. As more and more time passed, my breathing became heavier and I had to take deep breaths in order to slow my racing heartbeat. Everything's okay. Everything's okay. Everything's ok. I tried to persuade myself that it was true but the logical part of me knew that it wasn't. Something was definitely wrong.

Slowly pushing open the car door, I stepped out into the cold night air making sure to close the door quietly as to not draw attention to myself. If something was wrong, the element of surprise might be my only advantage. Making my way towards the dark house, I cringed at the amount of noise I was making as I walked over the fallen leaves and prayed that anyone inside couldn't here me coming.

I stopped a few meters away from the door and tried to steady my breathing. Reaching out my hand, I slowly moved it closer to the door handle. I had absolutely no clue as to what I was going to do when I got inside but the thought of the Benedict's, of Victor, being in trouble pushed me forward and my hand closed around the cool metal.

_River?_

I let out a high pitched squeak and jumped back from the door; placing my hand over my heart as it sped up to an unbelievable pace until it felt as though it would beat right out of my chest.

_Holy crap, Victor! You scared me!_

_Sorry about that._ I felt his laughter travel down our telepathic connection. Jerk. _I just wanted to tell you that you can come in now. The powers just out._ I let out a sigh of relief and rolled my eyes at my exaggeration. After I had collected myself, I once again reached for the door handle, this time pushing open the door without hesitation.

Inside the house was pitch black and as soon as I shut the door, I knew I was probably going to end up hurting myself and breaking at least one of the Benedict's possessions; I could barely avoid walking into things in full daylight so navigating through this house in absolute darkness was going to be more then a challenge.

"Victor?" I called out for him hoping to be able to navigate my way based on the sound of his voice or better yet, let him come and get me. No reply. I tried again but still nothing.

"This isn't funny! I can't see a thing." As soon as the sentence was out I proved it correct by bumping straight into what I guessed was the coffee table due to the sharp corner that dug into the side of my leg, causing me to let out a string of curse words. Now I was pissed off.

Stretching my arms out in front of me, I felt along the wall, hoping to find my way to the kitchen. That jerk was dead meat when I found him. After a few more minutes, I came to a gap in the wall and let out a breath; the smell of coffee was strong and I knew I had successfully found my way to the Benedict's kitchen. I took a step into the room and all hell broke loose.

The lights flashed on and I was greeted by the extremely loud cheers of the entire Benedict family which caused me to let out a scream of my own before I stumbled backwards, landing on my butt on the cold tiles. I let out a groan of shock and pain and the noise died down as Victor rushed over. Lifting me in the air, he checked for injuries before bursting into a grin.

"Welcome home!" His face expressed his excitement but I was having none of it. Crossing my arms over my chest, I hoped to look menacing despite the fact that my feet were dangling inches above the ground.

"Put me down, Victor." He looked at me in question but did what I asked, setting me back down softly on my feet.

"Why?"

"So I can do this." I quickly moved my foot, kicking him straight in the shin. He let out a groan of protest and shot a glare toward his family who had all burst out laughing at my reaction.

"What was that for?!" I narrowed my eyes but resisted the urge to kick him again despite wanting to do so.

"That was for being a jerk! You scared me half to death and you made me walk into the coffee table!" I gestured to my leg to show him that he wasn't the only one who got hurt because of this. He looked from my leg to me and burst out laughing, picking me up once again and pulling me to his chest.

"I'm sorry but the look on your face was priceless and definitely worth getting kicked in the leg for." There was a sound of agreement from behind him and I looked over his shoulder to smile at them all.

"I'm glad I could provide some entertainment but what's all of this for?" I took in the balloons and the wide range of food that covered the table. Xav was the one that stepped forward to answer my question.

"Don't be silly, Rivvy! It's your welcome home party. We planned it all especially for you." He reached out a hand and ruffled my hair, adding further insult to the use of that nickname.

"You want to die?" I asked in all seriousness but it didn't seem to bother him as he bounded over to the table and began stuffing food in his mouth. It seemed that signalled the start of the party as music was turned on and drinks were distributed.

I stood next to Victor, a cold soda in my hand after my argument that I was fine to drink beer had fallen on deaf ears. Leaning back against him, I took in the scene in front of me; the Benedict's had gone to all this trouble to welcome me back and I must admit, it melted my heart a little bit. I turned to Victor and reached up, planting a quick kiss on his lips.

"What was that for?" He looked surprised but happy and I felt the same way. I don't know when it had become so easy to be around him but it felt right to be by his side and I was glad because of that.

"Just a thank you. Also an apology." I gestured to his leg and he smiled at the memory, placing his arm around my waist.

"Were you really scared?" I nodded at this and tried to hide my embarrassment, something told me I would never live down falling on my butt in front of everyone.

"No more surprises then, I don't think I can stand getting kicked again."

"I wouldn't say no more, just maybe warn me about them before hand." We laughed together at my compromise and he rested his forehead against mine.

"I think I can agree to that." He let out a sigh and brushed his fingers across my cheek and into my hair. "I love you, River Heartly."

"I love you too, Victor Benedict." I closed my eyes and let my lips find his.


	22. AUTHORS NOTE

**So that's it guys, the last chapter has been posted! I really enjoyed writing this and although there were a few times when I made you wait for new chapters, I'm truly thankful that you stuck it out!**

**I would like to thank all of the people who reviewed, followed and favourited this story. It means so much to me and your feedback has been amazing. I can't thank you enough for your support!**

**I've finished this story now but I wanted to get your opinion on something. I was thinking about doing a sort of run-off series to this in the form of one-shots. I've had some ideas for this and I wanted to know if its something you guys would like to see or not. I would really like to find out what you guys think of this and I'm also open to suggestions on what the one-shots should be about or what they should show.**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

**IcedTeaInTheEvening**


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